Clintonville Farmers’ Market takes on its 20th harvest season, offering fresh produce from hyper-local vendors

Jessica Barboza
Thu, 29 Sep 2022 01:10:53 +0000
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Clintonville holds a farmers’ market every Saturday until Nov. 19. Credit: Courtesy of Yellowbird Foodshed

Just a walk up North High Street, the Clintonville Farmers’ Market is coming up on its 20th harvest season.

Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. through Nov. 19, the pop-up market will feature fresh dairy, meat, produce and more — all locally produced within a 100-mile radius of Columbus, according to the market’s website.

Established in 2002, Clintonville Farmers’ Market is the oldest market run under Common Greens, a local nonprofit organization that strives to provide customers with access to fresh food from farmers and producers exclusively from central Ohio.

Hannah Ball, market manager of Common Greens, said this “hyper-localness” to the Columbus area is one of the qualities that makes Common Greens stand out from other market organizations.

“It’s not just Ohio local, it’s hyper-local to Columbus. You’re eating, you know, within the neighborhood,” Ball said.

Unlike other neighborhood markets, Clintonville Farmers’ Market focuses almost exclusively on food. Other than some bath and body products made from scratch, everything at the market is either meat, dairy or produce, Ball said.

To make their food more accessible, Common Greens partners with a federal program called Produce Perks which offers customers a “snap card” that makes purchases up to $25 in fruits and vegetables tax-free, Ball said.

“What’s really cool about it is it doubles the profits for farmers, and it also doubles the amount of fresh produce people are taking home,” Ball says.

Ball said Clintonville’s community involvement sets it apart from other local markets. Every week they highlight new local musicians, allowing for customers to be immersed in live music while also giving artists a venue to gain traction. The market also provides a community table, located behind the welcome tent, to help raise awareness for local nonprofits and community-based organizations.

Clintonville’s community involvement sets it apart from the other markets in terms of crowd volume as well, Andrea Geist, vendor and co-owner of Oat Milk, said.

“We have a great sense of community in Clintonville,” Geist said. “I feel like we have just like a really regular group of followers and people we love seeing every week, and we feel like we have personal connections with them. It feels just different I guess from other markets in that way.”

Common Greens also supports weekly markets in Upper Arlington and Bexley, both approaching their 12th seasons, and is looking to potentially add a fourth market next season, according to its website.