Eight years after its founding, the Western Wake Farmers Market is now in its permanent home.
On July 7, vendors moved into the space at the Town of Morrisville’s new Healthy Food Hub at 260 Town Hall Drive.
At 9 a.m. Saturday, July 21, the public is invited to a Grand Opening Celebration, complete with ribbon-cutting ceremony and free tote bags. Attendees can go on a guided tour of the Historic Walking Trail after the event. And everyone is encouraged to pick up some fresh produce while they are at the market.
“It’s extremely satisfying that the Town of Morrisville welcomed a growers-only farmers market into their community,” said Julianne Zoetmulder, market vice president.
“The benefits are so big to have a farmers market in your community. It builds community; we’ve all made friends there. The vendors have a place to bring their amazing food and artisan goods,” she said. “To have the farmers market running 10 years, is a testament to how strong our link is to the community.”
Wanting easier access to high-quality local food for their families, Zoetmulder joined with other Cary moms in 2009 to start the market. Their goal was to establish a conveniently located, producer-only farmers market.
Beginning with a few farmers selling their produce at Carpenter Village on Saturdays, the market now hosts more than 40 vendors and over 30,000 customers. It is open on Saturdays year-round, from 8 a.m. to noon.
A June 29 post on the market’s Facebook page acknowledged the years of effort and hard work it took to arrange a permanent location.
“The dream is finally reality! This has been an effort that took eight years, five of them working with the Town of Morrisville, countless hours, the hard work of dozens (if not 100 or more) of people, and importantly, COMMUNITY SUPPORT,” the post read.
The market’s bid for a permanent location got a huge boost when the nonprofit and the Town of Morrisville received a $210,000 grant from the John Rex Endowment in 2014 to build the Healthy Food Hub. The hub will eventually be part of a larger town center Morrisville is planning at the corner of Town Hall Drive and Jeremiah Street.
“We’re going to tweak a little bit, but we have a place. That’s huge for the longevity of the market,” Zoetmulder said.
The farmers market is run by a board of local volunteers and aims to educate both consumers and producers on the benefits of local food consumption.
