Saturday marked the first 2025 Durango Farmers Market, which is implementing some changes to the organization and programs this year.
Durango Farmers Market Manager Anna Knowles said the nonprofit organization is transitioning into a tax-exempt entity, which will allow it to expand programs and community education projects.
It is introducing several new programs too, such as a Farm to Neighbor Program in which donations will be collected to purchase leftover produce at the end of the season to distribute via Manna soup kitchen and the La Plata Family Centers Coalition.
Durango Farmers Market is also implementing a SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) bonus program that begins May 24, in which SNAP beneficiaries can use their EBT cards to spend up to $60 per month for free with participating farmers.
“We just want to make (the market) as accessible as possible,” Knowles said.
Another new program is scheduled for the second Saturdays of August through October, aptly called Second Saturdays on Main. She said the Durango Farmers Market will be relocated to the 900, 1,000 and 1,100 blocks of Main Avenue, closing the road and allowing more vendor space and room to implement another program featuring local guest chefs.
Second Saturdays on Main is intended to be a pilot program this year with the potential to expand in coming years, she said. It’s being implemented in coordination between the Durango Farmers Market, the city of Durango and the Durango Business Improvement District.
The guest chef program will invite chefs from local restaurants who will demonstrate how to cook recipes featuring ingredients from farmers market pantry stables.
The idea is to educate the community about how to use area agricultural crops.
“There are a lot of things that people see and have never cooked with and they avoid it because it’s intimidating when you don’t know how to cook with it,” Knowles said. “We’re trying to provide education on crops that are … not particularly utilized as much as we can grow them here.”
Fava beans, garlic scrapes and green carrot tops are a few examples of perfectly preparable foods that often go neglected or underused, she said.
“It’s going to be a wonderful season,” she said.
Knowles said the farmers market is also improving its vendor education about licensing, cottage foods licensing or permitting and marketing education.
The farmers market is also revitalizing its volunteer recruitment program to make it more robust.
The Durango Farmers Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon at the TBK Bank parking lot, 259 W. Ninth St., every Saturday through Oct. 25.
cburney@durangoherald.com
