By Payton Tholstrup

The Concordia Farmers Market, from now until September 4th, is held every Thursday from 4:00-6:00 pm in Concordia City Park.

So far this season, the market has stayed busy. One reason for this is that the market now accepts SNAP, credit, and debit cards.

Kaitlin Moore, who is the Nutrition, Food Safety, and Health Agent at the K-State Research and Extension Office, shared that this was made possible through the “Hunger Free Kansas Grant” from the Kansas Health Foundation.

“I was inspired by other markets in other parts of the state doing the same thing, and when the grant opportunity came along and I found a collaborator who was willing to apply for the SNAP permit on behalf of the market, it was on!” Moore said.

The project had two main goals. The first was to increase access to local foods for SNAP households. The second was to better support local food producers by helping them access a customer base they might not have otherwise had access to.

Giving customers the option to pay with a debit or credit card has also made purchasing items at the market more attainable for the whole community.

Thursday, June 26th, marked the fourth night Moore was there accepting SNAP, credit, and debit cards.

This year, there are more vendors, which she said is exciting. More vendors mean more customers, so business has picked up quite a bit.

Vendors typically come and go, so there is no guarantee that the same vendors will be at each market. However, some of the new vendors this year include infused vinegars, breads, baked goods, ceramics, fiber arts, 3D printed crafts, body care products, coffee beans, freeze-dried fruit, and Caribbean fare.

Moore would like to remind everyone that this year, the fee for new vendors for the 2025 season is waived.

“I hope the momentum remains high throughout the market season. We are still kind of early in the season. It has been so wonderfully surprising to see the market this busy this early in the season!”