RIVERDALE — Weber County’s already impressive array of farmers markets — headlined by Farmers Market Ogden on Historic 25th Street — will be even more robust this summer and fall with the addition of a new, weekly market.

After having a successful trial run in October, the Riverdale Community Farmers Market is officially set to open its first full season May 20 at Riverdale Park, located at 4300 S. Parker Drive. From there, it will run every Monday through Oct. 14, from 5-8 p.m.

Director Jane Wylie is organizing the new farmers market through her company, Really Good Events, which also manages the Roy Community Farmers Market. She was tapped by Riverdale City officials to organize last fall’s preview event and was overwhelmed by the response.

“I was surprised by how well it was accepted,” Wylie told the Standard-Examiner. “The community is just really excited about it, and so we’re exceptionally excited about it. … The city decided they wanted to continue it into this season, which is fantastic.”

The Roy market, which runs on Wednesdays, is entering its third year of operation, and Wylie estimates that 400-500 people visited the market each week on average during the 2023 season. She observed a similarly large response during the Riverdale preview.

“We had cars lining the road for blocks,” Wylie said.

Riverdale’s market has been accepting vendor applications for months from a variety of growers/producers and artisans. However, the market is geared toward smaller and home-based operations.

“We focus on backyard gardeners, just because that’s what local produce means in this area,” she said. “We’ve got some big producers in Weber County also, and we’re hoping to see if some of them will come, but our main focus is these backyard gardeners, people that just grow in abundance and want to share with their neighbors and create a community.”

Although preliminary vendor selections for the new market have been made, Wylie noted that there’s still an opportunity for others to apply for space. Moreover, there are no vendor fees for those selling fresh, uncut produce.

Interested parties can access the vendor application form on the market’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551467471253.

“The more we support our local farmers, gardeners and producers, the more farmers markets we can have,” Wylie said. “Buying our produce from local farmers supports our local community more than if you were to buy it from the grocery store.”

The Riverdale Community Farmers Market also works to support low-income families by participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and the related Double Up Food Bucks incentive program.

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