Let’s make a deal: Farmers markets provide opportunities for vendors and visitors to connect
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
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- Visitors explore Farmers Market Ogden in downtown Ogden on Saturday, July 25, 2025.
Everywhere you look there are places where things are bought and sold.
You can stop by shopping centers, supermarkets, big-box stores and malls, or jump online to make purchases directly from businesses or explore what is available at sites like Amazon where countless sellers attempt to find buyers.
So why take the time to go to a local farmers market?
Mckenzie Baker of Ogden said what makes the difference is connection.
“My husband and I moved to Utah five years ago, and the farmers market was really the first event where we felt connected,” Baker said. “We were like, ‘we live here and we like it and this is really cool.’ So the market itself was always something that was really big to us.”
Baker sees something different in the experience when you are there with producers and creators who live in your community.
“I think when you have a market that prioritizes and really lifts up local farmers and local businesses, that’s a big thing,” Baker said. “You’re getting local people who have grown your food, who have picked your food, whose kids are running around in the yard. I think that’s really special in the community.”
Even being in a place like Ogden which is part of the Wasatch Front suburban corridor, she sees her local farmers market as a place to get to know the people who live in the same area.
“When we get to go week after week and see the same farmers, and are like, ‘oh, I bought your English peas in the spring, and now I’m buying your peaches, and here’s what I made with them,'” Baker said. “And those vendors also remember me, and so it’s this connection that you don’t find easily nowadays in the digital age. That’s the only place you see them. You don’t you don’t see them at work. You don’t see them on social media. I think there’s that human connection that we don’t get a lot of other places.”
Jessica Anderson, the marketing and communications manager for the Ogden Downtown Alliance and Farmers Market Ogden, said that is one of the main reasons that they put so much effort into making their market the best it can be.
“Ogden has a lot of pride,” Anderson said. “The people who live here love where they live. They live here, they work here, they play here, and so I think anything we do down here directly impacts those folks. People see that we’ve got a great thing going, and our vendors are just so happy and prideful and proud of the work that we do here in Ogden. It’s just a great community supporting each other.”
It’s not an easy task to put together a big market like the one in Ogden and other places throughout the state.
“We see about 15,000 people on average every Saturday coming out to visit,” Anderson said of Farmers Marktet Ogden. “We get over 400 applications for our market every year but on average in the rotation we have about 200 to 300 vendors every week. There are so many vendors who have been in for years — 5, 10, some even 20 years at this market. Wee also celebrate the vendors who this is their first year and they maybe just started their business. So we try to have a really healthy ecosystem where we’re supporting each other, and the vendors are supporting each other.”
Both Anderson and Baker see value in the fact that the market provides so many different products and entertainment for visitors to experience and explore.
“You can get you can hit all the stops in your trip to the market if you need to do grocery shopping,” Anderson said. “We have almost everything that a large corporate supply chain would have, so you can do your grocery shopping at the market. They can also get coffee and breakfast. They can also get brunch and lunch options. Being that we’re on 25th Street, there’s so many local businesses around where you can you can also shop with the local businesses or sit down and have like more of a restaurant dining experience or brunch experience. There’s so many different ways to get involved.”
Baker said that adding that human element to the food and items she considers purchasing makes them much more personal and valuable.
“I appreciate the things, the produce, the crafts, the packaged goods that I buy, I appreciate them so much more — and I think I pay attention to them more when I’m using them — when I’m in front of the person who grew them, or at the very least is driving them there and standing on the booths all day,” Baker said. “I think it it helps us appreciate the things better when we know the people behind them.”
While Ogden boasts one of the largest and most successful farmers markets (it has won the top farmers market award in Utah for four consecutive years and is hoping to continue that streak in 2026), there are dozens of events in various communities throughout Utah Valley and the state. The first week of August was officially “National Farmers Market Week.”
“We’re just spreading awareness about what farmers markets do for a local community,” Anderson said. “There are thousands of farmers markets nationally. We’re excited to be celebrating it.”
Voting on the award continues through September, so go to https://markets.farmland.org to support your favorite market in the competition.
An even better way to support the efforts is to get involved through volunteering. Baker explained that she enjoyed the market in Ogden so much that she chose to spent time helping out.
“I saw that they were asking for volunteers last summer,” Baker said. “That was the first time I volunteered, and seeing the behind the scenes and how small the staff is, I know it doesn’t happen without volunteers. I just really felt if that’s an event that I want to continue long after I’m gone, I need to be part of the process of keeping it there.”
Farmers markets throughout Utah Valley are listed on the weekly calendar (see L4) or you can check with your local community to find dates, times and volunteer opportunities.
