The Richmond region is home to about 20 of Virginia’s 356 farmers markets, ranging from scrappy, grassroots pop-ups to robust businesses that support dozens of purveyors and artisans. Richmond’s markets are part shopping destination and part community hub, where friends catch up while they snap up the best local produce and kids run underfoot, hoping for a treat. It’s the kind of place where one can feel the pulse of a city, and in Richmond, that pulse beats vibrantly.
But when community organizer Kathy Emerson took on the job of managing the 17th Street Market in 1998, she says there was no farmers market culture to speak of in Richmond. Instead, the historical market, a gathering place since 1737, was mostly populated by what she calls “jobbers” — folks who were selling fruits and vegetables purchased from Loving’s Produce or other suppliers from their stalls. The market, she adds, “was not in good shape.”
Tasked with revitalization, Emerson began the Thursday Grower’s Market at 17th Street in 1999, which counted purveyors such as Chris Vaughan of Cabbage Hill Farm and Amy Hicks of Amy’s Garden among its earliest vendors. Emerson says the market grew slowly, its success due to the tenacity of the farmers whose sales were extremely low at the start.
“The first few days I went, I made like $38, but then there were days I made $50, then $100, but it took all summer,” Hicks recalls. “I was still a waitress, and it was just the beginning of our foray into really thinking about farming for a living.”
Eventually, Hicks quit her waitressing job to pursue farming full-time as Amy’s Garden, selling at the Irvington and Williamsburg markets, and, when it opened in 2008, the South of the James Market, which, due to neighborhood support, was successful for vendors from day one.
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Amy Hicks of Amy’s Garden
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Challenge and Opportunity
Over the past two decades, Hicks’ Charles City County farm, which is known for organic fruits and vegetables, including heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, plus bright flower bouquets, has grown exponentially, just like the markets themselves. Now, her double-sized market tent at the Birdhouse and Williamsburg markets is always hopping, as shoppers squeeze past each other to find the perfect pint of okra. Amy’s CSA garden share program is also popular, with about 180 members, and her business is considered a market anchor, attracting crowds that are willing to throw a few elbows to get to the good stuff.
“Our experience, pre-pandemic,” says Hicks, “is that the crowds and customer base of our farmers markets just kept getting larger even when we thought it couldn’t grow anymore.”
That growth was in jeopardy last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, throwing market managers into a tailspin as they sought ways to continue connecting the farmers who depend on markets for their livelihood, with shoppers who sought a safe way to buy local food.
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Born as a project of the William Byrd Community House, Birdhouse Farmers Market has been operating since 2007.
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Thinking back to the spring of 2020, Birdhouse Farmers Market manager Kate Ruby says, “I spent most of my days ... trying to figure out our options. We were making decisions with the best information available at the time, but, as the expression goes, we were building the plane while we were flying it.”
While that market was in its off-season during the first two months of the pandemic, Ruby worked with the Birdhouse Farmers Market board, a volunteer group of vendors and community members, to establish a system for online ordering and curbside pickup that could serve customers, including SNAP recipients, in time for the market’s May opening.
Where once farmers could load up their truck in the morning and then unload it at a market where customers would clear their tables, suddenly the sales process looked much different. Farmers, not typically known for being early tech adopters, had to become computer and internet savvy, uploading pictures of their products to various websites and estimating available quantities days before harvesting. Gone, too, was the slow banter and sharing of recipes that once happened over market tables. With lines stacking up as farmers selected produce for each customer one at a time, there were fewer chances for the conversation that once characterized the farmers market experience.
“The changes have been difficult,” Hicks says. “Preorders and packaging produce added considerable labor and packaging costs. Serving customers one at a time limits how much product we can push out of the stand in a three-to-four-hour time period. As market farmers, we fare best at a busy market with a big crowd, packed into our booth picking out their produce and bouquets. That has all changed.” But, she adds, she’s grateful for the new customers who have sought local food during the pandemic. Ultimately, on-site sales have increased for Hicks over the past year, a result of more people looking for fresh food to cook at home.
“Until the pandemic, very few farmers market customers, vendors and market managers had much good to say about online farmers markets,” Ruby confides. “The crisis, however, opened the eyes of more than a few market managers, then producers and finally customers.”
Virginia Farmers Market Association Executive Director Kim Hutchinson shared the stats behind the transition to online ordering and the relative success of farmers markets in the pandemic’s early days: “The markets that were able to open early and work with producers to sell to the communities and adhere to the protocols made more money than they ever had before.” Hutchinson says in some cases that was a 300% to 400% increase in what they had made in previous seasons.
Going into the 2021 market season, Hutchinson says VAFMA anticipates a 32% to 35% retention rate of new customers who shopped at markets for the first time in 2020, adding, “COVID gave us the opportunity to showcase the value and importance of quality of what is generated at the farmers market.”
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Larry Davis began selling Larry’s Famous High Kick Pimento Cheese at the West End Farmers Market last summer.
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Continued Cultivation
At the West End Farmers Market, manager Jennifer Sullivan says the pandemic also provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs to take a leap of faith on their culinary dreams. Larry’s Famous High Kick Pimento Cheese, for example, was the brainchild of hair stylist Larry Davis. When Davis was unable to see clients due to social distancing restrictions, he brought a well-loved family recipe to WEFM, where it gained a devout following. Lil Somethin Sweet, which sells freshly made doughnuts on site, and the charcuterie board duo Board & Beautiful also launched their businesses at WEFM during the pandemic.
Though the farmer-owned market experienced a growth spurt last year, Sullivan says WEFM takes pride in being accessible and relatively small compared to some of the other area markets. During the height of the pandemic, Sullivan and the market owners polled vendors before making any major changes, including their move to the parking lot of Discovery United Methodist Church, which offers ample space for the market’s growing assortment of vendors.
The South of the James Market, operated by GrowRVA, also relocated, moving from its well-established home in Forest Hill Park to Bryan Park, where it has been renamed The Big Market. In a statement, Karen and Doug Grisevich, the duo behind GrowRVA say, “The shaded loop of the Azalea Garden, combined with the large footprint and multiple parking opportunities, makes Bryan Park the perfect setting for a market servicing farmers, culinary artists and artists from all across Virginia.”
Karen Grisevich launched the South of the James market in 2008 with the support of then City Councilmember Kathy Graziano, in response to the neighborhood’s desire for its own market. But as the market grew from 30 to 40 vendors to three times as many, with thousands of weekly visitors, so did concerns about overcrowding and traffic, which finally came to a head in 2020, as the market became a drive-thru that serviced more than 800 cars in over two hours. This season, in addition to managing The Big Market on Saturdays, GrowRVA returns to Forest Hill Park with a scaled-down version of the SOTJ market on Thursday evenings from 4 to 7 p.m.
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Navi Johnson, founder of the RVA Black Farmers Market
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The Richmond market scene continues to grow each year, no matter the circumstances. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Navi Johnson held the first RVA Black Farmers Market at The Way of the Lord Church in Randolph. Johnson says she felt called to start the market to support the Black community, many of whom shared a renewed interest in backyard farming and gardening during the pandemic.
In its 2020 season, that market addressed safety concerns with social distancing and mandatory temperature checks for guests. The challenges around keeping vendors and guests safe, she says, were worth the rewards: “I wanted to make space even in a pandemic where we can help each other ... and celebrate that, but it ended up being much bigger.” This season, Johnson will host the RVA Black Farmers Market at three locations across the city, including the 17th Street Market, which underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2018 and now serves as an open-air event space.
Now retired, Kathy Emerson remains an avid farmers market shopper. She’s loyal to Amy’s Garden and says she heads straight to Hicks to fill her basket before moving on to other vendors.
“I’m thrilled with how farmers markets have grown and evolved in Richmond,” Emerson says. “These markets have become part of our culture, and we now have such a choice of local farmers, bakers and makers.”
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Virginia is home to more than 350 farmers markets, with 20-plus around the Richmond region, including the South of the James Market.
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Lakeside Farmers' Market
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Carytown Farmers Market
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Carytown Farmers Market
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The Farmers Market at St. Stephen's
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The Farmers Market at St. Stephen's
FARMERS MARKETS IN THE REGION
17th Street Market
In 2018, the market received a complete overhaul, transforming into an open-air plaza featuring cafe-style seating and new foliage. 100 N. 17th St. 804-646-0954 or rva.gov/parks-recreation
Ashland Farmers Market
Hanover-grown produce, honey, artisan baked goods, fresh-cut flowers, meats, preserves and more. Saturdays, May-October. Henry Clay Elementary School, 310 S. James St. 804-798-9219 or ashlandva.gov/287/Ashland-Farmers-Market
Birdhouse Farmers Market
Local fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, baked goods and more. Also available online at birdhousefarmersmarket.luluslocalfood.com. SNAP accepted. 3 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays, May-November. 1507 Grayland Ave. 804-261-0841 or birdhousefarmersmarket.org
Brandermill Market
Fresh produce, flowers, pet treats, crafts and more. 4-7 p.m. Thursdays May-October. 4900 Market Square Lane. 804-744-1035 or facebook.com/brandermillgreenmarket
Carytown Farmers Market
Locally grown produce, freshly made foods, art and flowers. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays, May-last Sunday in October. City Stadium, 3201 Maplewood Ave. 804-402-9076 or carytownmarket.com
Chesterfield County Farmers Market
Local fruits, vegetables, plants, desserts and crafts on the grounds of the Chesterfield County Government Complex. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays, May-August. 6701 Mimms Loop. 804-751-4401 or facebook.com/CFitFarmersMarket
Colonial Heights Farmers Market
Locally grown produce, grass-fed meats, eggs, plants, baked goods, honey and more. 9 a.m to noon Saturdays, year-round. 2600 Boulevard, Colonial Heights. 804-721-3256 or facebook.com/colonialheightsfarmersmarket
Dorey Park Farmers Market
Local produce, local meats, baked goods, jams and jellies, handmade items and more. Music and community outreach events. 9 a.m to noon Saturdays, June-October. 2999 Darbytown Road. 804-314-9739 or doreyparkfarmersmarket.org
Farmers Market at St. Stephen’s
Outdoor Market hosted by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, May-September. 6000 Grove Ave. 804-288-2867 or ststephensrva.org/community/farmers-market
Farmers Market at Urban Farmhouse-Midlothian
Seasonal produce, pastured meats, baked goods and more. Wednesdays 4 to 6:30 p.m. May-September. 13849 Coalfield Commons Road. rvagriculture.org
Goochland Farmers Market
Local produce and good, music and food trucks. SNAP program. Tuesdays, 4 to 6:30 p.m. May-October. 1889 Sandy Hook Road. rvagriculture.org
Huguenot-Robious Farmers Market at the Great Big Greenhouse
Virginia Grown market featuring locally grown produce, meat and crafts. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays, year-round. 2051 Huguenot Road. 804-320-1317 or greatbiggreenhouse.com/farmers-market
Lakeside Farmers' Market
Year-round market with local produce, meat, cheese and handmade items. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays; 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. 6110 Lakeside Ave. 804-262-6593 or lakesidefarmersmarket.net
Manakin Market
Produce, local products, kids’ activities, music and more. SNAP program. Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon, May-October. 68 Broad Street Road. rvagriculture.org
The Market at Magnolia Green
Local produce and handmade goods Saturdays, May-October. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 17320 Hull Street Road, Moseley. 804-818-6900 or magnoliagreen.com/the-market
New Kent County Farmers Market
Producer-only market in the New Kent High School parking lot, with produce, cut flowers, eggs, cheese, honey, meats, baked goods and more. 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturdays, July-October. 7365 Egypt Road. 804-966-9683 or co.new-kent.va.us/649/farmers-market
On the Square VA Farmers Market
This downtown lunchtime market offers local produce and baked goods, as well as lunches from area food vendors. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays, May 1-end of September. 1314 E. Grace St. 804-314-9141 or rvagriculture.org/onthesquarevafarmersmarket
Powhatan Village Farmers Market
Produce and local products. SNAP accepted. Thursdays 4 to 6:30 p.m. May-October. 3841 Old Buckingham Road. rvagriculture.org
RVA Big Market
More than 80 full-time and 50 part-time vendors. 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, May-October; 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays, November-April. Bryan Park, 4308 Hermitage Road. growrva.com
RVA Black Farmers Market
Featuring Black-owned farms, purveyors, makers and small businesses. 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays and Sundays, May-November. Varying locations. instagram.com/rvablackfarmersmarket
Safe Space Market RVA
Held at Lakeside Farmers Market, this pop-up market is dedicated to highlighting the region’s underrepresented and marginalized makers and purveyors. 5 to 8 p.m., every other Friday. 6110 Lakeside Ave. safespacerva.square.site
South of the James Market
Thursday-evening market with farmers, artists, local food products and food trucks. 4-7 p.m. May to October. Forest Hill Park, New Kent Avenue and 42nd Street. growrva.com
Westchester Farmers Market
Producer-only market offering fresh produce, poultry, jewelry, soaps, plants and more. 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, May-October. 15785 WC Main St. westchesterfarmersmarketpowhatan.com
West End Farmers Market
Local produce, herbs, eggs, honey, meats, seafood, baked goods and artisan products. 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays, year-round. 13000 Gayton Road, at Discovery United Methodist Church. 804-516-2477 or westendfarmersmarket.com
