The Tuscaloosa River Market has held its weekly farmers market every Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon since 2012. The market’s history, however, dates back over 100 years.
“I have a picture in my office that was taken in 1904, and it was of the farmers market when it existed on Greensboro Avenue,” said Alexis Clark, the operations manager for the Tuscaloosa River Market. “It was just trucks of farmers pulling up to Greensboro Avenue and selling vegetables out of the back of their trucks to the public.”
When Mayor Walt Maddox opened the River Market facility, an over 5,600-square-foot building, in March 2012, there was a split in the market.
“The city built the building for the farmers market and invited the farmers to come and participate in a city-run market,” Clark said. “Its leadership and business format changed, and there were some farmers that did not come with us, and that’s how the Northport Farmers Market got started.”
Over the years, the Tuscaloosa Farmers Market has developed a steady inflow of between 2,000 and 3,300 people at the market on any given Saturday, from the end of February through the end of August. During the rest of the year, they see from 750 to 1,700 guests, with many regulars in the mix.
“We’ve only been in town about a year and a half, and as soon as I got here, everyone explained how amazing it is as a market,” said Benjamin King, author and co-owner of Purple Up LLC, a vendor at the farmers market. “So when we had the opportunity for the booth here every Saturday, we hopped on.”
Now, the City of Tuscaloosa Farmers Market at the River Market has been recognized as the number one farmers market in the state by America’s Farmland Trust four years in a row.
“This is our fourth year at the market, and it just keeps getting busier,” said John Whitmore, owner of Fat Squirrel Pepper and a geologist. “The first year, it was basically just us and a few other people attended, but now we fill up the space. Right now, the one thing that’s lacking is additional space. Other than that, I can’t think of how to improve it further. We have a really excellent mix of different vendors and different food trucks.”
Partnering with over 70 local farmers, bakers and artisans, the Tuscaloosa Farmers Market is a place for residents and students to buy local art and fresh produce grown within 25 miles of the state line of Alabama.
Additionally, to sell their product at the farmers market, the vendors pay $50 per year to be a member and $10 each time they set up to sell. The taxpayer dollars and revenue from the venue subsidize the rest of the cost.
Ron Wilson, a vendor and owner of Ron’s Creations, a woodworking, engraving and 3D printing business, said that he sells more at the market than at art and craft shows. Today, Wilson only sells at the Farmers Market.
Another artisan, Kiersten Ellis, owns a business called Local Clay Works and sells handcrafted pottery from native clay.
“I use Hurricane Creek and Snow’s Bend Farm clay, and I go out, and I dig and process the native clays by hand using a traditional pottery method,” Ellis said. “I’m a member of the Friends of Hurricane Creek, which is a local nonprofit water-keeper organization. I also use reclaimed or repurposed commercial clay, so I try to stay as eco-friendly as possible.”
Not only do residents sell their products, but students from the University have also taken advantage of this opportunity for weekly business close to campus.
“I feel like I learn a lot more doing this and trying to run my own business, with all the operations management, the tax stuff, it’s more of a practical education,” said Adriana Barragan, a senior majoring in economics and founder of Grounded, her homemade granola company.
Last November, she applied to be a vendor and officially started selling her granola at the market.
“I’m very picky about my ingredients,” Barragan said. “I really look for things that are better quality and healthier, and I felt like there weren’t a lot of good options in Tuscaloosa for healthy food. So I’ve taken it upon myself to start baking a lot for myself at home, and one of the things I like to bake is granola.”
Through providing live music played by local musicians such as the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra, hosting the Pop Kids Club and honoring SNAP benefits with a Double Up Food Bucks program, the Tuscaloosa Farmers Market fosters a sense of multi-generational connection.
“One of the main things I appreciate about the Tuscaloosa Farmers Market is how I get to meet a bunch of different people in the Tuscaloosa community,” Barragan said. “I get to meet so many locals here, which is so sweet — people of all different ages, younger couples and grandparents.”
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