Jonesboro, AR – JonesboroRightNow.com – If Saturday’s turnout is any indication, the Judd Hill Farmers Market is having one of its biggest seasons yet.
Traffic backed up along Aggie Road as vehicles waited to turn into the market, and the parking lot filled early as hundreds of shoppers poured into the popular Saturday morning destination.
This year marks the market’s 20th anniversary, and Saturday’s crowd reflected just how deeply the market has become woven into the fabric of Northeast Arkansas. The Judd Hill Farmers Market began in 2006 with vendors set up beneath a canopy of trees and has since grown into one of the region’s premier farmers markets, now featuring covered outdoor vendor spaces and a large air-conditioned indoor market building.
Saturday’s shoppers found nearly everything local agriculture has to offer.
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Fresh homegrown vegetables lined table after table alongside farm-raised beef, fresh eggs, locally grown flowers, homemade jellies, baked goods, honey, popcorn, handcrafted items and artisan crafts. Vendors filled outdoor tents, the covered market canopy and the indoor building, while food vendors served fresh-squeezed lemonade, coffee and barbecue to hungry shoppers.
Among the busiest booths was 3 Brothers Farm on the Ridge, where Don and Stan Fortenberry greeted customers while selling tomatoes grown with their brother, Jackie, on the family’s farm “out near Ron’s Catfish.”
The brothers said they sell directly from their garden throughout the week before bringing whatever tomatoes remain to the Saturday market.
Their family operation has become something of a farmers market success story.
“Our daughters have made enough money selling tomatoes over the years to put down payments on two different vehicles,” the brothers said.
Customers kept coming.
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Tiffany Benham of Manila stopped by to purchase two sacks of tomatoes during her first-ever visit to the market.
“This is my first time to the farmers market,” Benham said. “I love tomatoes.”
Stories like that are exactly what organizers hoped to create when the market first opened two decades ago.
Today, the Judd Hill Farmers Market has grown into a weekly gathering place where local farmers, food producers, artisans and families connect while supporting local agriculture and small businesses. The market operates Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through October, with Tuesday markets during the summer months. Vendors offer everything from seasonal produce and meats to baked goods, flowers and handmade crafts, making each visit a little different depending on what’s in season. The market also regularly features food vendors and community events throughout the year.
Based on Saturday’s overflowing parking lot and steady stream of shoppers carrying bags of fresh produce back to their vehicles, Northeast Arkansas’ appetite for buying local appears stronger than ever.