How to Eat Healthier and Support Small Businesses

I must admit, until lately, I haven’t been too concerned about looking for locally grown food. I’m busy and Kroger’s and Ingles are convenient. But recent events have led me on a quest to find places in Knoxville where I can find locally grown food. I’ve discovered that the place that has the best selection of locally grown food is the Market Square Farmers Market.

Here’s part of what led me on my quest.  I had a loaf of bread on my counter for one month. (Please don’t judge. We are not big sandwich eaters.) In that entire time, the bread never molded.

How can store-bought bread not mold in a month? Does it have something to do with the 14 zillion ingredients you can’t pronounce, let alone identify? Add that to all the news stories about the latest food recalls and the dangerous additives we find in our food, and you can see why I’m checking out some locally grown food sources.  

While there are plenty of smaller farmers’ markets around (and we’ll be checking them out later) so far, I’ve found the best selection of locally grown food at Market Square Farmers Market. For those of you new to Knoxville, Market Square Farmers Market is an open-air farmers market managed by Nourish Knoxville, a nonprofit organization “cultivating healthy communities by supporting relationships between local farmers, producers, and the public.” It is located at the Market Square Mall which is in the center of Knoxville between Wall and Union Avenues.

Now here’s the cool thing. Everything at the Farmers Market is grown, raised and/or made by vendors who are within a 150-mile radius of Knoxville.  So, you’re shopping locally. You’re supporting small businesses while eating healthier. You can actually talk to the people who have grown the food, made the products, or raised the meat.  I didn’t understand how awesome that was until I started going down there and talking to the vendors who produced these products.

And these people mean it when they say these are local products.  The people at Nourish Knoxville are so serious about locally grown and made products that (according to one of their Facebook posts) they conduct farm visits to make sure they can substantiate the claim of everything being locally grown, produced, or made.  Now that’s serious!

Part of why I started this blog was to learn a little about the history of Knoxville. (If you’re not a history buff you may want to skip this short section, but make sure to stick around to the end to get some tips on visiting the Farmers’ Market.) So, here’s a brief history of how the Market Square Farmers Market began. To do that, we must look at how Market Square Mall began.

The history of Market Square Mall can be traced all the way back to sometime in the 1850’s when the city built a small market house on donated land. While its original purpose was selling local produce, it soon began attracting other businesses including Knoxville’s first bowling alley.

The Market flourished and grew for years. Grocers, clothing stores, saloons, newspaper offices, and even detectives’ offices (how cool is that) are among the businesses that called Market Square home. But unfortunately, by the 1990’s the number of farmers coming to the market dwindled down to only one farmer from East Knox County.

Things changed around 2000 when the city redesigned the old Market Square. Then in 2004, the Market Square Farmers Market opened on Market Square.  Since then, the Market has continued to grow and in 2023 celebrated its 20^th season. If you’d like a more detailed history, you can read more here and here.

The Farmers Market reopened in May for 2024 and is open every Wednesday and Saturday (rain or shine) from now through mid-November. The hours on Wednesday are 10am-1pm, and Saturday’s hours are 9am-1pm. Saturday’s market is much larger with more vendors participating. But it’s also more crowded, so if you’re not into crowds, Wednesday’s market might suit you better. When December rolls around, the name changes. It becomes the Winter Market with differing vendors, and it is only open on Saturdays. Because everything is locally grown, each season gives you a different selection of products.

For years, I didn’t go downtown because I didn’t want to mess with the parking. But things have changed. On Saturdays there is free parking in the Market Square Garage (about a 3-minute walk). This is where I love to park. Unfortunately, if anything else is going on downtown, this parking lot fills up quickly.

Your other options include the Locust Street Garage, which is a 7-minute walk, and the State Street garage – another of my favorites.  

You can visit downtownknoxville.org to access their “Live Parking Availability”. It is the coolest thing.  They have a link on their website in aqua/turquoise (it could be at the top or bottom depending on what they’ve changed lately). Click on it and you can see how many parking spaces are available in real time at each of four different garages.

It also gives you a map so if you aren’t familiar with the locations, you can check it out before you go. One word of warning. On home football game days…things change. Be prepared for increased charges and an overabundance of traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian. Full disclosure…..if there is a home football game, you won’t find me downtown.

While I avoid downtown during home football games, I’ve really enjoyed spending some Saturdays on Market Square. It’s relatively easy to get around downtown once you’ve parked. This is especially important to me since last year I spent over six weeks in a walking boot following a tendon injury. There were some places I just wouldn’t go because they were too difficult to get around. When I started this blog, I determined I would always address mobility and accessibility issues.

Market Square Farmers Market shouldn’t be a challenge to those who are moderately active. That said, the Market does encompass a two-block area, and parking can be a ways off, so you might want to have your driver drop you off at the entrance to the market while they go and park. The Market can get very crowded, so if you’re unsteady on your feet, or in a wheelchair, you might want to get there early. Hopefully you can avoid the crowds that way.

In addition, while I hate to be a Debbie Downer, I’d be negligent if I didn’t let you know about the homeless population downtown. As a personal observation, it does seem to have improved in the Market Square area, but there is the possibility that you will be approached by someone on your way to the Market asking you for food or money. Just a little something to bear in mind.

As I’ve visited the market several times, I thought I would let you in on some of the things I’ve found out that make my shopping easier. So here you go…..

1. Bring Cash – while most of the vendors do accept credit cards, there may be some who don’t. In addition, at least some of them add an up charge for credit cards.
2. If you are headed to the Farmers Market (not the Winter Market) and want to check to see if your favorite farmer is there, check out the Nourish Knoxville website to find a list of vendors. You can find a link at the bottom of this page. They also will have a map so you can find your favorite vendor without walking the entire Market.
3. Bring a basket. I saw a number of people with baskets when I was there. What a great idea so you aren’t hanging on to plastic bags and dropping your precious produce on the sidewalk.
4. Save the biggest items til last. I know, that sounds like common sense, but we all forget it and end up with aching arms because we’re carrying around ten pounds of produce or a huge photograph. In fact, if you have someone with you, have them pick you up.
5. Leave Fido (or in my case, Murphy) at home. While Market Square is a pet-friendly area, pets are prohibited in the main center aisle of the Market. (Although I did see some rule breakers out there.)
6. As far as I know, the closest public restroom is located at the Market Square Garage so plan accordingly. I did not personally check this restroom…this is based on information from their website. As far as I know, the only other public restroom nearby is at the Visit Knoxville location on Gay Street. Personally, I’d go there.

And a bonus suggestion: if you’re unsure if the Market is open or not, you can check their Facebook page for more information

I saved the very best reason for shopping at the Market Square Farmers Market for last. The people who bring their products to the Market Square Farmers Market are our neighbors. As I said, everything sold here is produced within a 150-mile radius of Knoxville. These are not strangers…these small business owners have a vested interest in our city.

These are the people who will be supporting our local economy. They are the businesses that will sponsor your granddaughter’s soccer team and your grandson’s football team. They may be the ones who will help pay for band uniforms for your nieces and nephews. And with all the uncertainty out there about our food supply, now is definitely the time to buy local.

Because I believe so firmly in supporting our local farmers and makers, I’ll be highlighting some of them on my Instagram and Facebook pages. They have some awesome stories to tell. So, make sure and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

If you’ve shopped at the Farmers Market this year, please share your favorite vendor in the comments below.