We are located downtown at North 1st and Mesquite, across from Frontier Texas!

I know we seem pretty flaky when it comes to our hours. We will say 1,000 times that WE ARE OPEN EVERY SATURDAY 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. Most, if not all of the vendors at the Farmer’s Market are farmers. We tend to operate with the sun – in the summer when sun rises early, our farmers are here early. In the fall and winter seasons the sun rises later, so our market opens a little later. You know the saying “the early bird gets the worm?” At the Market, the earlier the customers have the better pick of their local goods such as produce, meat, baked goods, etc.  

Just know that when you can see the vegetables in the daylight, we’re open. On a Saturday morning. 

If a certain crop is super abundant for a farmer, setting up on a Tuesday or Thursday is to give you, our customer, the opportunity to have a piece of the fresh harvest. We update on our Facebook page and Instagram page if we’re open on a Tuesday/Thursday and what Farmer will be there. As of now, there isn’t enough produce for our current farmers to be able to set up on a weekday. Fun Fact: most of our farmers travel 30+ miles! We all wish we had the produce to justify being open more days of the week, but it’s simply not feasible this year.

The Abilene Farmer’s Market has been open since 1982, and one of the visions of the market is that merchants would primarily be farmers and the market would be an avenue for Big Country farmers. Therefore, based on our bylaws, our slots for baked goods, candies, jellies, etc. are limited. This is also why we don’t accept craft vendors. We are at our heart a food market. We are ALWAYS accepting new farmer applications, and if you have a unique item that would help bolster the experience at the Abilene Farmer’s Market, we encourage you to apply!

Please note: We rely on mother nature and last summer most of our farmers lost their entire gardens to hailstorms. We are also limited by State Laws on how many non-growers and non-producers we can have.

We pride ourselves on being local farmers and growing or making everything we offer you, and in our gardening zone it is particularly harsh for the beautiful berries and millions of peaches we envision when we think farmers market. It’s not impossible but sweet things are a little hard to come by in these parts. What we can help you guys with is knowing what’s in season. If you go to the market with the mindset of shopping with the seasons, you won’t gear yourself up for tomatoes or black-eyed peas in February. 

A lot of your farmers at the Market aren’t on social media so to say we know what exactly everyone is bringing or what we will have in stock is difficult. We encourage everyone to talk to the farmer directly about any sort of pick up or prepaid item. We’re also more than happy to direct you to who we think can help you, too.

We encourage this question to be asked by the farmer you’re looking to purchase items from. Every farm and answer are different depending on the farmer. Our farmers love to share more about their hard work!

Pickled eggs, raw milk and fresh cheeses are not legal for us to sell. All our merchants must abide by State and City laws. Most of the farmers at the Market operate under the Texas Cottage Food Law which allows merchants to bake and can in their homes to offer for sale. However, it also regulates things such as type of foods, labeling of goods, and labeling allergens that could potentially be in the food.

Unfortunately, our bylaws strictly prohibit this. Everything you see at the Market is made or grown by the vendor. However, we recommend you reach out to other events downtown such as ArtWalk hosted by the Center for Contemporary Arts.

Each vendor is different! Most accept cards but cash is always king.

Our Market Bylaws strictly prohibit this.

Yes! We partner with WIC Abilene and through their program our Farmer’s accept WIC vouchers for fresh produce. The WIC program will kick off on June 8, 2024.

Not yet! But we are working on it.

Unfortunately, no. We have requirements that must be met before you have permission to sell your items. We understand that some farmers might want to come set up just once to see how it goes. However, we require booth rental fees, insurance fees, and other regulations. Every vendor you see has put in the time, effort, and money to make sure they meet all city, state, and federal laws along with meeting all insurance requirements which is one of the reasons why we have such a great Market!

Great question! Meet your local farmers here. 

If you are interested in being a vendor, please fill out the interest form here. From there, we’ll touch base with you about an application and what needs are required. Every vendor must have vendor insurance, all products must be home grown, homemade. If you’re selling any type of canned good or baked good, it must follow Texas Cottage Food Laws. You need to have a food handlers permit.

Unfortunately, we are limited on space (we’re working on this!) and do not have any memberships available. However, we do set aside day vendor spots for those interested in participating.

All of the members have had farm inspections, abide by the bylaws of the market, and members have to submit for quality inspection.

Day Vendors are open when spots are available. If you are interested in this route, please contact the market a month in advance to get up to speed on all paperwork. Day vendors are also required to have insurance and food handler’s certification (if selling food products of any kind – even canned goods!)

Every member and day vendor are required to abide by our bylaws.

You need a Florist M License and a tax ID number.

Our current vendors use Campbell Risk Management, Flip Insurance, ACT Insurance, NEXT Insurance, and Insurance Canopy. These agencies strictly offer coverage for Cottage Food and Market Vendor Insurance, but we always recommend reaching out to your local insurance agent to get more adequate information. Bath and body care is a completely different ball game, and we recommend contacting your local insurance agent.