Chattanooga’s newest farmers market is going to be more than just a place to buy and sell produce.
To be located at Eastgate Town Center, the market will be held every Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. beginning June 9 and will feature live music, an information alley and free classes teaching people different agriculture-related skills.
From left, Byron, Molly, Ben, JoAnna, Dana and Brad Bleasdale of Fall Creek Farms showcase the way that farming is a family affair at Fall Creek Farms. Fall Creek Farms will be a vendor each week at the Eastgate Town Center Market, and market organizer Alicia Anderson said she hopes to spread the message of family farming through classes offered at the market each week.“Especially with the warmer winters we’ve had a lot of farmers tell us that they are growing year-round,” said organizer Alicia Anderson. “We chose to have it on Saturday since the Chattanooga Market is already going on on Sundays and farmers seem to like Saturdays.”
In addition to featuring local farmers and artisans, she said the market will also focus on crafts and trades that may be lost in the 21st century. Anderson said she partnered with the Eastgate Senior Center to create the Lost Arts Society, a group of seniors who will demonstrate crafts like quilting, crocheting and knitting for people attending the market.
Another component of the market is the Victory Garden Campaign. Similar to the Victory Gardens during World War I and World War II, Anderson said a big focus of the market will be teaching people to start their own gardens and encouraging them to donate to a fund for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.