Albany Farmers’ Market offers fresh food and fun

Get ready for fresh local produce and fun as the Albany Farmers’ Market opens Saturday, April 17, in Historic downtown Albany.

Hours for the Albany market will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays for 32 weeks through Nov. 24, and will set up in its usual spot at Fourth Avenue and Ellsworth Street next to Albany City Hall.

Open air and wide aisles are two factors that local farmers’ markets have going in their favor. But the market and farmers and producers need full cooperation from everyone to stay open and keep the community safe.

This is the second season under Covid-19 restrictions and customers are asked to continue exercising safe distancing and to please wear a mask.

Organizers are also asking patrons to observe these protocols:

• Stay at home if you are not feeling well
• Consider ordering and prepaying for items
• Send one person per household
• Bring cash when possible
• Use hand washing stations at the market
• Comply with rules and methods at each booth
• Don’t eat while at the market
• Purchase items and then promptly exit

Several vendors have registered and are ready to sell their delicious fare, including fresh fish and meat, pastries and lots of early season produce.

According to information from market organizers, some vendors who did not participate in 2020 will return thanks to the availability of vaccines, while others will be back or come more frequently after securing services at USDA-inspected meat processing plants that were affected in 2020 both by COVID and by wildfires.

New Albany vendors this season include well-known Corvallis vendors Brandywine Fisheries and The Naked Crepe, and new faces All Tucked Inn and Woolly Oak Farm.

A few vendors who did not participate in 2020 will be returning to markets thanks to the availability of vaccines.  Some vendors will return or come more often because they have secured services at USDA-inspected meat processing plants that were affected in 2020 both by COVID and by wildfires.

The market will continue its partnership with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) redemptions, and will match the first $10 of every SNAP purchase with Double Up Food Bucks.

Live music and most educational events remain on hold, with the exception of the Power of Produce (PoP) Club, which in 2020 found a COVID-safe way to provide fruits and vegetables to kids ages 5 to 12. This year, beginning July 3, parents can pick up one free produce item for each eligible child.

If shopping in person is a concern, patrons can get a head start by placing an online order. To get started, head here to the marketplace homepage, where shoppers can register, shop, see schedules for ordering periods and learn other helpful tips. For patrons who used the service last season, their password is still valid.

For more information about the market and pre-order options, visit locallygrown.org, and its Facebook page.

For a list of more markets around the mid-valley, click here to go to our Farms and Farmers Markets page.

The Albany Farmers’ Market is thought to be the oldest continuously operating open-air farmers’ market in Oregon. It began on the riverfront and moved in 2007 to its current location.

Please observe all safe distancing and other safety protocols, and together we can help keep alive this great tradition of shopping fresh and local.