The Payson Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 8am – Noon until September 28th!
John and Lorian Roethlein conceived the Payson Farmers Market the end of 2008 and opened July 4th 2009 as a way to make a difference their community. It’s created a gathering place in Payson where people can meet their friends and it expands the availability of fresh local food in Payson.
Starting with 12 vendors in the Community Presbyterian Church parking lot and now entering our 5th season with a prominent Beeline Hwy location and tripling in size, we’re thrilled to say all areas of the market are going very, very well. Here are some of the results so far…
- Fresh, local, organically grown food is available to the 20,000 Rim Country residents, plus the many visitors traveling through town
- We’re a USDA sponsored Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) for Seniors, and WIC (Woman, Infants and Children) nutrition program certified, giving low income residents access to fresh, local grown produce
- The Payson Farmers Market is a Locavore style market where all food comes from within 100 miles and sold directly from the farm or food maker to you
- New farmers are joining the local food movement and turning their acreage into farms, and existing farmers are expanding the size of their farms
- Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent in our community and studies show money spent with local businesses has an exponentially greater impact on the local economy
Multiple new businesses have started
- Bakeries
- Natural Pet Biscuits
- Gourmet pickles
- Farms
- Fruit Co-Op
- Free Range Beef
- Spices
- Jams and Jellies
- Fresh honey
The Town of Payson finally has a community center
- Payson didn’t have a good gathering place, there’s no downtown, or focal point where people could go until now
- On a non-holiday Saturday, 800-12,000 people come to shop, eat, listen to live music, see old friends, make new ones, laugh, tell stories, conduct business and generally have a good time. On Holiday weekends, the number of people just about doubles
- Live, local music every Saturday has substantially strengthened the local music community
- Thousands of dollars were contributed to local non-profits through their participation in the market
- Offer weekly children activities and monthly contests or events sponsored by local businesses for the entire family
- Many other things are being accomplished, but to sum it up, we believe the Payson Farmers Market makes living here better for everyone
I’ll end with a review from Patrick B on Yelp.com
“My family and I stopped by this growing farmers market for the first time on Sunday (ed. should be Saturday) and were absolutely impressed. Not only was it slightly bigger than I imagined, but the market also captures a sense of the “old” Payson that I grew up knowing. There were several different vendors, most of whom were happy to chat about their products or any other topic — the gentleman from one of the bakeries came out from his booth to say hello to our dog and talk to us for a few minutes. The people here are great, and it’s wonderful to see such a genuine idea thriving in Payson”.