What happened to the Nashville Farmers Market?

[jgradyc]

The Nashville Farmers' Market is practically empty now!  There's like one vendor there when there should be 20. The North Sheds are completely empty except for Flowers Nursery (plants and flowers).  I heard they were switching to producers-only, but that announcement was way back in January. 

 

What's going on?  Where are the vendors now? Where are the produce vendors in and around Nashville? The Franklin Farmers Market is too far and too yuppy-fied. 

Edited May 27, 2015 by jgradyc

[monkeylizard]

They're in the transition phase. They've kicked out the guys selling 100 packs of tube socks and airbrushed Obama T-shirts, but have not yet replaced them with the local producers. I don't see it working out well for them. I don't think there are enough local producers who would be willing to haul their stuff downtown, pay rent, and still be able to make a buck. Winter months will be particularly challenging to keep the stalls filled with local producers. We'll see, but I expect to be able to buy a Tupac wall hanging again in about 24 months.

[MacGyver]

Yeah, I think it's the switch to being producer only that's causing the lag right now.  Someone can't buy stuff wholesale and come and mark it up at the Farmer's Market anymore.  It's going to take some time for those producers - many of whom have left with bad tastes in their mouth over the years - to come back.  If they come back.

[LagerHead]

They're in the transition phase. They've kicked out the guys selling 100 packs of tube socks and airbrushed Obama T-shirts, but have not yet replaced them with the local producers. I don't see it working out well for them. I don't think there are enough local producers who would be willing to haul their stuff downtown, pay rent, and still be able to make a buck. Winter months will be particularly challenging to keep the stalls filled with local producers. We'll see, but I expect to be able to buy a Tupac wall hanging again in about 24 months.

I hope you're right. Gotta get my Tupac on. I can't wait until he releases his next album.

[monkeylizard]

Where are the produce vendors in and around Nashville?

 

There are some scattered around the city on different days.  Here are the ones I know of. I suspect there may be more. Perhaps one in Antioch, Hendersonville, Mt. Juliet, etc. Plus the pickups parked on the sides of the roads, but they're not usually producers. Most are reselling stuff they got wholesale. There used to be a stand out on Hester Beasly Rd on the outer reaches of Bellevue that was run on the honor system. Not sure if it's still there or not. There's a place setup on White Bridge Rd. across from Target. Right now it's all just flowers, but they'll be getting produce in soon. I don't think they're producers, but I'm not sure. I do know they deal in organic and heirloom fruits and veg. They had some delicious Black Diamond watermelons last year.

 

There are also a variety of CSAs in the area. http://nashvillelifestyles.com/restaurants/a-guide-to-nashvilles-csa-programs

 

Tuesday:

12 South Farmers Market

http://www.12southfarmersmarket.com/

3000 Granny White Pike
Nashville, TN 37212

3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Seasonal: May through October

 

Wednesday:

East Nashville Farmers Market

http://eastnashvillemarket.com/

Shelby Park at 1500 Davidson St., Nashville, TN 37206

3:30-6:30pm
Seasonal: May through October

 

Friday:

Donelson Farmers Market

http://www.hipdonelson.org/farmers-market/
2730 Lebanon Road at the Ace Hardware Complex108 Donelson Pike
4-7pm
Seasonal: May through October

 

Bellevue Farmers Market

http://thebellevuefarmersmarket.com/

Bellevue United Methodist Church @ 7501 Old Harding Pike

5-7:30

Seasonal: May through October

 

Saturday:

Franklin Farmers Market

http://franklinfarmersmarket.com/

@ The Factory on Liberty Pike, Franklin
8am-1pm
Open every Saturday, Year Round

 

West End Farmers Market

https://www.facebook.com/westendfarmersmkt?fref=ts

4101 Harding Road, at the Vine Street Church
9 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturdays from May through December

Edited May 27, 2015 by monkeylizard

[Caster]

Like so many good things, hippies ruined it for a lot of people.
Most people just want to buy some clean fruits and veggies, free from the crap the industry giants use to produce.
Then the hipsters started showing up because it was the 'in thang to do'.
The only people who can tolerate those people are .....those people.

[2.ooohhh]

There are some scattered around the city on different days.  Here are the ones I know of. I suspect there may be more. Perhaps one in Antioch, Hendersonville, Mt. Juliet, etc. Plus the pickups parked on the sides of the roads, but they're not usually producers. Most are reselling stuff they got wholesale. There used to be a stand out on Hester Beasly Rd on the outer reaches of Bellevue that was run on the honor system. Not sure if it's still there or not. There's a place setup on White Bridge Rd. across from Target. Right now it's all just flowers, but they'll be getting produce in soon. I don't think they're producers, but I'm not sure. I do know they deal in organic and heirloom fruits and veg. They had some delicious Black Diamond watermelons last year.

 

There are also a variety of CSAs in the area. http://nashvillelifestyles.com/restaurants/a-guide-to-nashvilles-csa-programs

 

Tuesday:

12 South Farmers Market

http://www.12southfarmersmarket.com/

3000 Granny White Pike
Nashville, TN 37212

3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Seasonal: May through October

 

Wednesday:

East Nashville Farmers Market

http://eastnashvillemarket.com/

Shelby Park at 1500 Davidson St., Nashville, TN 37206

3:30-6:30pm
Seasonal: May through October

 

Friday:

Donelson Farmers Market

http://www.hipdonelson.org/farmers-market/
2730 Lebanon Road at the Ace Hardware Complex108 Donelson Pike
4-7pm
Seasonal: May through October

 

Bellevue Farmers Market

http://thebellevuefarmersmarket.com/

Bellevue United Methodist Church @ 7501 Old Harding Pike

5-7:30

Seasonal: May through October

 

Saturday:

Franklin Farmers Market

http://franklinfarmersmarket.com/

@ The Factory on Liberty Pike, Franklin
8am-1pm
Open every Saturday, Year Round

 

West End Farmers Market

https://www.facebook.com/westendfarmersmkt?fref=ts

4101 Harding Road, at the Vine Street Church
9 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturdays from May through December

 

Vanderbilt also has one on the Medical Center's campus on Thursdays in the summer if you find yourself in the area.

Starting Thursday, June 4, and will be held every Thursday from 3-6 p.m. through Oct. 29

http://news.vanderbilt.edu/2015/05/this-years-farmers-market-set-for-alternate-location/

[monkeylizard]

Like so many good things, hippies ruined it for a lot of people.
Most people just want to buy some clean fruits and veggies, free from the crap the industry giants use to produce.
Then the hipsters started showing up because it was the 'in thang to do'.
The only people who can tolerate those people are .....those people.

 

I like my solution to that problem. I grow my own. Then I don't have to deal with hipsters or anyone else. It doesn't take much space. A few sq. ft of dirt will yield an incredible amount of produce when done properly. Of course that's a seasonal solution, but so is a farmers market. Almost anyone selling tomatoes in Nashville in February is importing them from an industrial farm, even if it is an organic industrial farm.

Edited May 27, 2015 by monkeylizard

[seez52]

nice farmers market in lebanon, usually just local producers

[jgradyc]

There are some scattered around the city on different days.  Here are the ones I know of. I suspect there may be more. Perhaps one in Antioch, Hendersonville, Mt. Juliet, etc. Plus the pickups parked on the sides of the roads, but they're not usually producers. Most are reselling stuff they got wholesale. There used to be a stand out on Hester Beasly Rd on the outer reaches of Bellevue that was run on the honor system. Not sure if it's still there or not. There's a place setup on White Bridge Rd. across from Target. Right now it's all just flowers, but they'll be getting produce in soon. I don't think they're producers, but I'm not sure. I do know they deal in organic and heirloom fruits and veg. They had some delicious Black Diamond watermelons last year.

 

There are also a variety of CSAs in the area. http://nashvillelifestyles.com/restaurants/a-guide-to-nashvilles-csa-programs

 

Tuesday:

12 South Farmers Market

http://www.12southfarmersmarket.com/

3000 Granny White Pike
Nashville, TN 37212

3:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Seasonal: May through October

 

Wednesday:

East Nashville Farmers Market

http://eastnashvillemarket.com/

Shelby Park at 1500 Davidson St., Nashville, TN 37206

3:30-6:30pm
Seasonal: May through October

 

Friday:

Donelson Farmers Market

http://www.hipdonelson.org/farmers-market/
2730 Lebanon Road at the Ace Hardware Complex108 Donelson Pike
4-7pm
Seasonal: May through October

 

Bellevue Farmers Market

http://thebellevuefarmersmarket.com/

Bellevue United Methodist Church @ 7501 Old Harding Pike

5-7:30

Seasonal: May through October

 

Saturday:

Franklin Farmers Market

http://franklinfarmersmarket.com/

@ The Factory on Liberty Pike, Franklin
8am-1pm
Open every Saturday, Year Round

 

West End Farmers Market

https://www.facebook.com/westendfarmersmkt?fref=ts

4101 Harding Road, at the Vine Street Church
9 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturdays from May through December

Thanks, this is a great list. The place on White Bridge across from Target is where I often go, but I used to go to the downtown Farmers Market when it was convenient. It sounds like it's going hipster. (sigh)  

[MacGyver]

I think in a lot of cases, the hipsters are the ones that have the desire to get cleaner food (per Caster's earlier comment), the luxury of both time and disposable income to go seek out sources for that food, and the lack of other schedule constraints that will let them at this point in their lives spend half a Saturday seeking out a few pounds of vegetables and some artisanal bacon.

 

Couple in the fact that when they get to the market they're likely to encounter other people like them, and you've got a self-sustaining hipster mecca.

 

We might all be better off to start really pestering our local grocery stores to start procuring foods produced closer to the store.  For example, I know that Wal-Mart has quietly undertaken an initiative over the last couple of years to get a certain quantity of their produce grown within 150 miles of the store.  While this has major transportation and logistical advantages, it also has the benefit of supporting local economies and getting better, fresher produce on the shelves.

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/03/the-great-grocery-smackdown/307904/

 

Me, I'm a sucker for roadside stands and truck farmers.

[Monkeyman2500]

I can tell y'all a lot of local business has been lost to the high end restaurant industry. I would try to source as much local produce as I could when ordering. Even the large suppliers are buying from local now for resale. We would design menu items specifically for what was in season locally and request it from our supplier. The farmers realized long ago they could not sustain themselves at the markets. With the cost of being a farmer it was the only way to survive. The days of farmer Dave ( real guy by the way) driving around in his pickup from restaurant to restaurant selling his in season produce started a lot of this in Nashville. Great guy too by the way. It was good and bad. Many people, not just hipsters, have been awakened to the benefits of non gmo foods. Read about monsanto, it will scare the crap out of you. There are still the smaller markets mentioned and they are pretty good. As for the Nashville farmers market it could go either way. I went once about five years ago and never went back it was such a joke. There were only two or three true local growers.