On Saturday, the Chillicothe Farmers Market continued offering local food and other hand-made farm and craft products, like they do almost every Saturday.
They were in the parking lot of the Ross County Service Center at 475 Western Avenue where I spoke with Mandy Way, market manager and vendor. She gave an update on the market and explained some of its procedures.
Way said the market has had a large increase in vendors from outside of Ross County. The market allows potential members to try out one market Saturday at $25, and if they want to join, it’s about $400 for a whole season – much less than for markets in Columbus and Cincinnati.
She said there are only two other markets in our region, smaller ones in Greenfield and Washington Court House – but they have filled their allotted space, so they can’t accept new vendors.
Chillicothe’s market is still accepting new vendors, says Way, especially of artisan and homemade products. They usually have 25 to 30 vendors for the May-October “summer” season, and usually 12 to -14 for the “winter” season.
Way said the Chillicothe Farmers Market is one of the rare member-driven markets, where everybody votes on policies and fees. Hear her own words in the video interview in the article on the Scioto Post. Stay tuned for additional video interviews of new vendors!
They post as the Chillicothe Farmers Market on Facebook. From there or through their email newsletter you can get emailings to learn about special events and vendors who are participating the next Saturday.
And don’t forget that you can order online before 8am Friday for the following Saturday, if you want something that tends to sell out fast (like eggs!) or want to quickly pick up all your groceries at once. Once you do pick up, you are automatically billed through your market account.
You can contact the Chillicothe Farmers Market at chillicotheohfarmersmarket@gmail.comor 740 / 207-2701.
Kevin Coleman covers local government and culture for the Scioto Post and iHeart Media Southern Ohio. For stories or questions, contact Kevin Coleman or the iHeart Southern Ohio Newsroom.
1 of 2 Mandy Way, Chillicothe Farmers Market market manager and vendor.
2 of 2 A warm Chillicothe Farmers Market on February 10th, 2024.