BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Support local farmers and enjoy in-season produce, the O Grows Farmers’ Market is opening Tuesdays, May 19 through Aug. 25, from 3 to 6 p.m. The market is located at the Opelika Courthouse Square, 215 N. 8th St. in Opelika.
“We will be rain or shine all year long,” said O Grows Farmers Market Manager Antonio Martinez. “The rain or shine really comes from our farmers and the vendors that make a living out of this; they don’t want to cancel, they’re like, ‘We want to be out there.’”
With food for all paletes, Martinez said locals can enjoy a selection of jellies, honey, mushrooms, meats, eggs, produce, fried pies, cakes, sourdough bread, cookies and more.
“We found in Opelika, people want food,” he said. “They’re not really going to stop by on a Tuesday to grab a bag, a shirt or anything like that. They’re there to get some fresh, local, affordable and accessible food. That’s what we really want to lean into in this next year, along with finding ways to continue to have our vendors be successful and make sure that it is a valuable event for the community.”
Along with supporting local farmers, Martinez said the O Grows Farmers’ Market helps community members enjoy the health benefits of produce that is in season.
“Eating locally helps you eat more seasonally, which is great for your body,” he said. “Your body needs different nutrients at different times of the year. When we start to eat with what we have versus what we wish we had, it just makes us a lot more creative as well to engage with the seasonal produce available.”
Martinez said there are three food assistance programs that O Grows offers to help locals access food grown and made in their own community.
The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is a state initiative that provides qualifying seniors with an annual $50 voucher to buy fruits and vegetables at qualifying markets. At O Grows, many vendors are able to accept this card. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal and state program that provides food aid to qualifying members in the community. Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) is a program that O Grows offers through a grant from the Hunger Solutions Institute at Auburn University. Through this program, O Grows is able to double SNAP dollars, up to $40 additional dollars for the purchase of fruits and vegetables.
“So those are the three programs we are very happy to have and grateful to have all three,” he said. “We really want people to know about these so that they can use them and really get the most out of these programs.”
For more information, visit O Grows/OGrows Farmers Market on Facebook or www.ogrows.org.
“When you spend that money at the O Grows Farmers’ Market with those farmers, that money stays in our community; that is money that goes, quite literally, back into the earth to feed our community,” Martinez said. “We saw things like with COVID-19, which was a big disruptor in supply chains, and so thinking about things that disrupt supply chains that make those major grocery stores a little bit more cost-prohibitive or more unstable, we are taking the time now to invest in things like farmers’ markets or locally owned businesses, which gives them the strength to continue to operate and continue to provide those services [in the case that major supplies are disrupted in the future].”
