Lexington Farmers’ Market kicks off its 22nd summer market season this Tuesday, May 26, from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
There’s one big change though — it’s back at Fletcher Park.
LFM moved its summer market to Lexington High School’s Worthen Road practice field in 2021 when the town started work on its Center Streetscape project. It kept operations going at the practice field while the police station was being re-built, too.
Now that the station is done, it’s time for the market to return to its original location — and LFM’s leaders are excited.
“When you drive into Lexington and see all those white tents popped up all over Fletcher Park, to see the market brought back to the Center, I think it’s going to be a really nice feeling for people,” Leslie Wilcott-Henrie, LFM’s board president, told the Observer.
The market will be very similar to what was offered at the LHS practice field and reminiscent of LFM’s pre-COVID days. Visitors can expect to see their favorite long-time vendors such as Busa Farm & Markets, Crêpe du Jour, and Hi-Rise Bread Company back for another season.
There will be some slight tweaks, though.
LFM is hosting six new vendors, including: Ackerman Maple Farms, Arlington Brewing Company (this won’t be a pop-up brewery, they’ll offer taste tests and will sell packs of beer), Art Cooks, Casba Food & Pastries, Freedom Food Farm, and Solstice Pasta & Provisions. Craic Sauce and Sueños Chocolates will return to the summer market this year after a hiatus. The full list of vendors can be found on LFM’s site.
LFM is going for a bit of a different feel with its return to Fletcher Park. The vendors will be set up a little closer together now that COVID is less of a concern.
“We’re really trying to create — I don’t want to say intimate, like people are going to be bumping into each other — but a cozier market space because that’s one of the things people love about coming to a farmers’ market is that sense of community and seeing people,” Wilcott-Henrie said. That will give visitors who want to, say, set up a picnic blanket under the big tree to enjoy their LFM purchases, the space to do so.
Last year, LFM introduced a tent for the town to share information with visitors. That’ll be back again this year, which Wilcott-Henrie said helps to create a strong community feel at the market.
“That, I think, is going to be a really big highlight for really connecting the town’s commitment to the farmers’ market and vice versa,” she said.
The number one question LFM leaders have gotten about this year’s summer market is about parking.
While the market is poised right next to the police station, visitors are not allowed to park there. Those spots are reserved for police officers and other town employees. Visitors can, however, park in the parallel spots on the Cary Hall driveway, though only for quick trips. Those are 30-minute public parking spots. There are also several public lots in the Center that are a couple blocks from the market.
LFM encourages people who live close by to walk or bike along the Minuteman Bikeway, which runs right by the market. For those who live a bit further away, the MBTA Bus Routes 62 and 76 are also viable options and stop right in front of Fletcher Park.
The market accepts SNAP, HIP, and Farmers’ Market coupons including WIC and Senior FMNP. LFM will double a visitor’s SNAP dollar, up to $20 per day — that’s up from $15 in years past. People who are enrolled in SNAP also automatically get HIP benefits. Vendors including Busa Farm, Farmer Dave’s, Stillman’s Farm, and Kelley Farm accept HIP benefits.
Wilcott-Henrie noted LFM has made a big difference in helping people who are food insecure by offering those benefits.
“Last year, almost $55,000 was spent in food assistance dollars at the Lexington Farmers’ Market,” she said. “That is not only amazing for the people who are able to use those benefits at the market, but it’s a huge help to our farmers and vendors — ultimately they are all small businesses trying to make it.”
More information on how to use food assistance benefits at the farmers’ market can be found on LFM’s website.
For residents who are interested in getting involved with the farmers’ market, LFM is actively looking for volunteers and new board members, Wilcott-Henrie said.
“We’re a small group, small but mighty, keeping it going, and we really are excited about bringing in some new younger voices and people who want to bring new energy into the market space, particularly as we’re moving back to Fletcher Park,” Wilcott-Henrie said.