Tasty, fresh, wholesome, healthy! These are some of the reasons that people enjoy buying homegrown East Texas fruits and vegetables. The Winnsboro Farmers’ Market has been slowly getting started, stated Main Street/Community Development Director Shane Shepard. “We’re going to try something a little different, by listing the type of produce and goods each farmer has available on our new website, and then listing the farmer’s phone number so that customers can order directly.” The website is sponsored by the Winnsboro Main Street Partnership. Local farmers can contact the coordinator, Phyllis Martin, at 903-638-1060 for a free listing on the website: www.winnsborofarmersmarket.com

Then it will be up to the customer and farmer as to whether the order is delivered to the Depot or the customer picks up their order. “It should save on gas and spoilage,” stated Shepard “if the farmer can deliver several orders at once at a specified time and not have to have their produce out in the summer heat at the Depot.” Customers can view fresh fruits, vegetables and other farm products like eggs, jams and jellies on the website.

A grant has been submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to add shade structures and other amenities to the market behind the Depot on Carnegie, said Shepard, “but until we hear from the USDA sometime in September, we hope this method will provide support to our local farmers and fresh, safe produce to our citizens.”

Winnsboro Main Street Partnership has an overall community outreach strategy to support local agribusiness as well as third generation farmers and anyone else who is a small producer viewed as a local business. “We believe in supporting the neighborhood farmer,” stated Phyllis Martin, coordinator for the Farmers’ Market, “and we’re trying to share with him or her a piece of the pie so that everyone here can survive and thrive. We hope to rebuild the once-famous Winnsboro Farmer’s Market so that it becomes part of the synergy of our revitalized downtown shopping, dining and arts experience.”

NOTE: There are some farmers setting up behind the Depot on Carnegie Street, especially on Saturday mornings. One farmer had a flatbed full of watermelons, and they are the best tasting watermelons around.