Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse
Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse is your go-to podcast for staying connected with the heart of Richmond, Indiana. Dive into the latest community updates, local events, city initiatives, and stories that matter most to our vibrant community. Whether you're a lifelong resident or new to the area, this podcast keeps you in tune with the pulse of Richmond!
Inside Richmond: The City's Pulse
Episode 9 – Inside Richmond: The City’s Pulse | Behind the Scenes of the Richmond Farmers Market
Discover the heartbeat of Richmond’s local food scene in this engaging conversation hosted by Lindsay Darnell, Community Development Coordinator, as she sits down with Hannah Snoddy, Coordinator of the Richmond Farmer’s Market. What began 50 years ago as a handful of farmers on a street corner has grown into a thriving community hub featuring over 40 vendors every Saturday at Jack Elstro Plaza.
Hannah shares insights into the market’s producer-only policy, which guarantees that everything you buy is made or grown by the person selling it. Many vendors prioritize sustainable practices, demonstrating a shared commitment to environmental care and future generations. Lindsay and Hannah also explore impactful programs like SNAP Double Dollars, which doubles the value of EBT benefits, and the upcoming Farm to Pantry initiative, which will transform excess produce into meaningful food support for local families.
Go behind the scenes as Hannah describes the unique challenge of vendor selection—what she calls “human Tetris”—and how the team works to maintain a balance between farm-fresh goods and artisan offerings. Upcoming events include Kids Farmers Market Day on June 7th and the Tuesday Twilight Markets beginning in July, featuring live music, food trucks, and a relaxed summer vibe.
What shines most in this episode is the sense of connection the market fosters. Shoppers build real relationships with vendors who remember their names, their stories, and their favorites. It’s a kind of commerce rooted in community—a far cry from the big-box store experience.
Whether you’re a loyal visitor or a curious first-timer, Hannah’s passion for local food and community building is sure to inspire. Join us every Saturday from 9 AM to noon at Jack Elstro Plaza or on Tuesday evenings this summer from 4–7 PM. As Lindsay reminds us, just showing up makes a difference—because every visit is an investment in the people who make Richmond special.
To learn more about our Parks & Recreation Department and the Richmond Farmers Market, visit:
👉 https://www.richmondindiana.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation
Welcome back to another episode of Inside Richmond, the City's Pulse, and today I'm excited to have Hannah Snoddy from the Farmer's Market. She is our Farmer's Market Coordinator. Hannah, thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me out, thank you. So I wanted to talk about the Farmer's Market. We're here getting ready to go into summer. The farmer's market is back at Jack Elstro Plaza. Can you give us an overview of the Richmond farmer's market?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we did just move back out to Jack Elstro Plaza. We are a year round farmer's market, though, so we just came from the Star Jeanette building, which is a beautiful historic building down in the gorge. We are open every single Saturday from 9 am to noon, so you can find us at Jack Elster Plaza right now, and we've been having consistently about over 40 vendors each Saturday right now, and every vendor that's at the market is a producer or grower only of what they have, so when you're buying from the market, you can rest assured that what you're buying has been made by the person that you're buying it from, which I think is something really special that we have.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so locally grown foods I mean, and hopefully they're organic. Yeah, most of them are.
Speaker 2:Most of our farmers do use organic practices. Even though some of them aren't certified organic because that takes a lot to get all those certifications, most of them do practice organic practices on their farm. We all have a big goal of just, you know, having just making the earth happy too. You want to be sustainable and make sure that you've got a place for the next generation to be.
Speaker 1:So tell us how long has the farmer's market been operating and how has it evolved since it first started.
Speaker 2:Well, last year we celebrated our golden year at the market, so we were celebrating 50 years last year.
Speaker 2:I think that's something that a lot of folks don't realize, simply because you may not have recognized it really as a farmer's market, as what you think of a farmer's market now, right, I mean, we're talking 40 to 50 vendors every Saturday right now with you know, sometimes we have live music and food trucks. Back then it was on a corner with maybe two, three farmers, you know. So that's a that's a huge difference and the location changed a lot back then. What you would find changed a lot. And then sometimes even, you know, I think we had a period at the market where it wasn't growers and producers only, so it was, I hesitate to say, more of a flea market vibe. But I think that that's kind of what some people were starting to think of it as, because you know, you never knew what you were going to find because it wasn't what you grew or what you made to bring to the market. So we've really pivoted from that the past couple of years and I think that's helped grow us to where we are.
Speaker 1:Right, and I think it's great that you're supporting these local farmers and small businesses. So what role does the market play in supporting the local farmers and small businesses here in Richmond?
Speaker 2:Well, we, try to be a platform for, you know, all the farmers and businesses that want to come and participate in the market.
Speaker 2:I say every Saturday a small business Saturday at the farmer's market because we want to make sure that. You know it's hard for small businesses right now, all across the board. It's hard for them. So we want to provide a platform in the best way possible to give them the highest chance of success at what they're doing. And we have a lot of programming in place as well to provide extra income, hopefully for the farmers that come on board, like our Snap Double Dollars program. We have a lot of programming in place as well to provide extra income, hopefully, for the farmers that come on board, like our SNAP Double Dollars program. We have a WIC Market Match program. We're getting ready to do a Farm to Pantry project. So those are all initiatives and programs within the market that also help add to what the farmers get and what that they can push out as far as the food, to the community and also helps the community members be able to purchase those items from them.
Speaker 1:So actually I'm glad that you said something about the SNAP dollars. That was one of my questions about does the market accept SNAP or other assistant programs? So can you let the community know what the SNAP dollars program is?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we love these programs at the market. So we have Snap Double Dollars. We do accept EBT benefits at the market. When you come to the market you can use your EBT card. Whatever you take off of your EBT card, we then double in market tokens. So if you take 20 off your card, we're going to give you 40 back in market tokens. If you take 40 off, we're going to give you 80 back. Those are then able to be used with our Snap eligible products within the market. Those are then able to be used with our SNAP eligible products within the market.
Speaker 2:So those would be food items, just like honey, meat, produce, eggs Can't use it on hot food or hot drinks, cold drinks, all that stuff but they also don't expire. So if you happen to not use them all in one day, you can come back when you're back at the market and use them again. So it's a really good program for you to be able to get that local food access, support the local small businesses that are here in the community, because these are literally your neighbors here in the Wayne County community, and then you can also stretch them further because you're getting twice the amount that you would pull off your card and you're not losing those benefits either, because, like I said, if you don't use them that day, you can come back and you can use them later.
Speaker 1:So the tokens? What do these tokens look like?
Speaker 2:So, they're little wooden tokens. We have $1 and we have $10 tokens and they have our logo on the back and then they have the monetary amount on the front. So they're just they're a little bit bigger than a quarter that you can use at the market. The $10 spend just like $10 bills. If you don't use all $10 at the vendor that you're with, then they give you change back for that.
Speaker 1:Okay, cool, that's awesome, and I'm really glad that you guys do that, because you are getting double of what you're spending, absolutely. So what feedback have you received from residents and vendors about the market's impact?
Speaker 2:We get a lot of good feedback and that's one of the perks of the job, for sure. I feel like every Saturday we have people, whether it's rain or shine sometimes more when it's raining than when the sun's out that people just say that they're grateful that we're there and that they have a place they can come to. They learn these vendors by name, you know, and these vendors learn these customers by name. So when a customer comes up, they know what they want or they know what they might like. You know, they know their family, what they're bringing. So it's a really, really unique kind of connection to see within the community. And then we have vendors that will tell us that, thanks to the market, now they're selling at other locations, they're able to go to other markets because they've been able to expand their small business. Maybe they've got brick and mortars, maybe they're just going into like more local boutiques and stuff like that, but still, to broaden their horizons and grow that business is something that's just. That's definitely a big perk as well.
Speaker 1:And that's really important for our small businesses is to be able to grow and not just stay stagnant at a small level, but they're able to expand out Absolutely. So can you tell us what goes into organizing and managing the market each week?
Speaker 2:Well, it's a big thing that we pushed out the farmers markets don't just happen. You know it's my full time job as the market coordinator. So this is what I do all week for my job to put the market on. And there is a lot that goes on. I have a lot of. You know we do a lot of applicant reviews that come in. I do a lot of vendor communications, a lot of map making, human Tetris. I do a lot of human Tetris when we're trying to figure out who to put where each Saturday. I do a lot of community outreach as well. So when I'm trying to get resources at the market, find grant opportunities, ways to get sponsors, just there's a lot of different integration that comes in. So it's not just going to the plaza and setting up a table. That's the good part, you know that's. That's our fun day. But even not even just for me, but for all the vendors you know we work all week behind the scenes to get this going for one day.
Speaker 1:How would somebody come in if they wanted to be in the market? How would they go about that? They have to go through an application.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we do have an application process so that can be accessed online or we have paper copies at the park office and at our market shed during market hours. So they fill out this application. I get notified that you put one in. We usually review those once a month. Just because sometimes we do get a high amount of applications in and because there's so much going on behind the scenes, we try to make sure that we kind of set aside enough time to really look at who all is applying for the month and then we look at the ratios of what we currently have and see if there's a need within the market, because we want to make sure that our current vendors stay successful and that our new vendors have a chance to be successful, and you can't do that if you have too much overlap.
Speaker 1:Right, so there's still a variety. It's not like five vendors that do the same thing. That way, someone's getting more business while the other one's not. So you have it spread out, yeah.
Speaker 2:And that can be difficult because we have a lot of great vendors that apply to the market, but we might already have, you know, several vendors that are already selling the same thing. So we want to make sure that we're staying true to who's already there and who's been with the market, but also still finding pockets where available for new people to come in. We do strive as well to have, like we call it. A 60-40 ratio is our bare minimum. I prefer a 75-25. And what I mean by that is it's 60% farm and food and 40% artisan vendors. Right now we are a little bit closer to that 75-25, to where that way, when you come to the market because we are a farmer's market a majority of what you're going to find is locally grown or baked food so I've actually been to the farmer's market several times.
Speaker 1:I was at the Sargent on your guys's last Saturday there, oh fun. Um, there was live music and it was full. I mean it was, it was booming, it was hopping. And I took my four-year-old. He absolutely loved it. He was going to all the bakeries.
Speaker 1:I love it and so I had to get him a cookie here, a cake pop here, a brownie there, and then he saw the crocheted animals and you know he was like I want one of those crocheted animals. So I mean, we had so much fun walking around and seeing everything, um, and getting some goodies for him to bring home.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love hearing that and sometimes just going and walking around the market. The social aspect is just as important as buying something, because there's so many more ways to support local than a monetary way to do it. And just hearing about experiences like that are awesome.
Speaker 1:So can you tell us this summer, are there any special events, live music or even kids activities offered during the market?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, we have lots of events that are coming up. The next big event that we have coming up is our Kids Farmers Market Day. That will be on Saturday, june 7th, and right now we do have 12 organizations that are signed up in addition to our vendors that you will find at the market, and they provide, like in-depth kids activities, just really fun things, and then also provide community resources that you can be made aware of and that's one of our most fun and highly anticipated days of the year. So that is on June 7th. And then our Tuesday Twilight markets will start in July.
Speaker 2:So those are on Tuesday evenings from four to seven, also at the Plaza, but those have live music every single week. So you, you know and I think that's something big to push out to the community is like did you know that there's live music for free that you can come to every week in the summer? Um, just plop out a chair and enjoy it. So we have that going on. We always have a lot of food trucks that come out to that, but in general, most of our markets that we have, we try to provide kids activities that are free to come out and enjoy for the kiddos, because we want to make sure it's that family friendly atmosphere.
Speaker 1:So we actually went last year to the kids farmers market and you guys had stations set up with games, bubbles, I think they did kind of like a scavenger hunt or a passport, where they went to each vendor and got a stamp and then at the end they were able to get a prize.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah so we'll do something similar this year. Um, we always love having that passport, just so they kind of go around each booth and see what's available. Giant bubbles we'll be making a comeback because I think if we did not have those, the children would riot. That's always a big favorite, um, but yeah, I'm really excited for it this year. I think it's going to be bigger and better than ever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think last year Morrison Reeves was giving each kid a free book, if I remember correctly, or maybe it might've been.
Speaker 2:Every child can read Um and they'll be back out this year. They'll have their bookmobile out and they'll be handing out free kids books. Um, morrison Reeves library will be there. I think they're doing a button making station so kids can make their own buttons to wear. And we have lots of great organizations that are coming out, like Girls Inc, juco, our summer kids camp through the parks department. The counselors will be out there hosting giant games. Reed Community Engagement will be out there, purdue Extension just lots of great community partners.
Speaker 1:And going back to the live music, you know a lot of people probably don't know that you guys do have the live music. But you know, bring a lawn chair out there and put it in the grass and just sit down and relax, listen to the music, walk around, see the vendors. I think that's really exciting.
Speaker 2:The Tuesdays are so much fun and we always say they're a different vibe than our Saturday markets because they're they're slower in the aspect that it's not as bustling as a Saturday market. We're not going to have 40 vendors out on a Tuesday, you know. We'll probably have around 10 to 20. But then we make up for that with our food trucks and our live music and we want it to be more of that relaxing atmosphere. You know, bring the family out, plop down a lawn chair, eat your dinner, you know, and enjoy just just being outside.
Speaker 1:Right, and you know we've had such cold weather and it seems like it's lasted longer in May yeah. So to get out and enjoy the weather and just be outside instead of cooped up in the house. We've had a lot of rain, it's been cold and you know that sunshine it just makes you feel better.
Speaker 1:Even in the evening it's been cold and you know that sunshine it just makes you feel better. Even in the evening it's staying lighter till like nine o'clock, so you're still enjoying the sun, even though it might not be as hot yeah, so yeah, we're really looking forward to that, and that's something I think last weekend really helped us out at the market.
Speaker 2:It was our mother's day market but, um, you know, the sun was shining, the weather was perfect and we were all so literally so happy to just be outside and everybody had the best attitudes and they were just grateful to have the sun on their face.
Speaker 1:So right, yeah, and you know, when it's gloomy and gray, you're kind of gloomy and gray too yeah, it affects us all? For sure it does um so are there any upcoming changes or new initiatives planned for the market there?
Speaker 2:are um, we do have our farm to pantry project that we'll be launching in June. So that is a project that I've been working on for quite a while behind the scenes now, and we will be purchasing surplus produce from our farm vendors to then send to local food pantries in the community to kind of help with that food access fight and to you know, of course, you know fight the food insecurity that we see here in our community, but also make sure that we are reducing food waste and, you know, again, helping out the farmers that are within our community.
Speaker 1:That's great. I didn't know about that, but that's exciting that you guys are not only having the farmer's market, but you're going to be purchasing the surplus and then sending it to food pantries for people. I think that's amazing.
Speaker 2:That's my, that's how I will always say that that's. My biggest goal within the market is to increase the food access, because nobody should have to fight for food. That's a basic necessity and if there's anything I can do to aid in that fight and to help the farmers at the same time, I'll do so. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So is there any fun or unexpected story that's happened at the market that you can share with us?
Speaker 2:Fun or unexpected. I feel like we see those almost every week really and you'd almost have to be in it to see it. I don't know how many of them I could share on here, but we do have gosh. I have to think about that. I mean, the kids always will give you a funny story if you're out there, because we have, you know, we have vendors that bring their families out in addition to the customers that bring their families out, and you know, kids say the darndest things and they will always come up to the shed and they'll kind of explain to us. You know what's happening.
Speaker 1:I can say kids can definitely humble you as well, yeah, they really can. I was humbled by my four-year-old on Friday when we were out to eat. I don't want to say it here because it's embarrassing, but he was talking about my weight and I was like, oh thanks it's embarrassing, but he was talking about my weight and I was like, oh thanks, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:I don't know how many of them I could really share on here without, you know, possibly embarrassing somebody or bringing somebody to light. That might be like thanks for bringing attention to that, because it is, um, it's just very wholesome. Uh, for for sure, to see all the things. And I know like we do scavenger hunts a lot at the market and we'll have different clues on there. Um, and sometimes these kiddos will misinterpret the clues and not know what they mean or something. Um, like one of them, we had like rabbit food on there for our Easter market and some of the kids came up and they're like we can't find rabbit food anywhere. And I was like there's some right behind you Because you know we had a farm vendor that's got, you know, greens, they've got carrots, you know all the things that rabbits can eat, and that's obvious to me. But these kids were looking for bags of rabbit food.
Speaker 2:So, you know. It was like well, you're not wrong, but you know we're looking for the different options. So then that was pretty funny. And then those same kids, when they came back up, we gave them these $2 carrot cash vouchers to use to go pick out their own fresh fruits or vegetables at the market. And I told them, I said maybe you can pick out your own rabbit food. And they kind of just looked at me like excuse you, like no, and I'm like well, I don't mean that rabbit food I'm talking about. Like maybe you want to go try the carrots.
Speaker 1:And he was like no, no, I can say it is hard to get kids to eat their vegetables.
Speaker 2:It is, and that's one of the reasons that we give we give out those vouchers is we're trying to encourage those healthier choices. We do give those out pretty much every market when we see kids or when they participate in kids activities, hoping that they'll make those healthier choices. A lot of times they wait till the summer when the fruits in, but that's OK too.
Speaker 1:So can you tell us what's your favorite part about running the farmer's market?
Speaker 2:It's definitely market day for sure Because, like I said, so much goes on behind the scenes.
Speaker 2:I will say, like this Saturday, for example, you know I'm watching the market get set up and that's one of my favorite things to see. You know, we have the market shed at Jack Elstro Plaza. We had the windows down on the side and I just kind of put my arms against the window and I was just watching the vendor set up and just watching their excitement to be there because, like I said, it was a beautiful day, it was sun shining and to just see, you know, this hub where the vendors come out and then the community comes out. You know you put your heart and soul into this behind the scenes and you can never guarantee what's going to happen. You know if there's a bad weather day, some of the vendors might cancel, the customers might not show up. You can put all this advertising in, you're still not going to guarantee the customers are going to show up. So when you see all that work come together and then you see happy vendors and you see happy customers and everybody just coexisting, that's probably my favorite part.
Speaker 1:And I bet the vendors were just so excited to be outside instead of inside of a building. Absolutely and in the cold. So finally, a good day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we love Star Jeanette and it's a beautiful building. We're thankful for that roof over our heads in the winter and, you know, in October we will be very thankful for November, because it gets cold and windy in October and very unpredictable. But after six months in Star Jeanette and we've all been in those walls together we're ready to have some room to breathe.
Speaker 1:And I don't think people understand how beautiful it looks. That's one thing when we were at the Star Jeanette's last farmer's market. Inside is you walk in and it's just.
Speaker 2:It's gorgeous to see all the vendors in there the old brick.
Speaker 1:It really is beautiful. Yeah, it's the perfect like aesthetic for a farmer's market. Yeah, so, moving on, I wanted to talk about you guys have had actually your own podcast and have done a few podcasts and it's called local roots right, yeah. So tell us a little bit more about your guys' podcast and some of the things that you talk about on it.
Speaker 2:So Local Roots. We kind of brought it to light because we wanted to bring more awareness to farmers. Markets don't just happen, and it's not just me as a coordinator. I have a couple of market assistants, so Christy Cruz is usually on the podcast with me, and then we try to bring on different vendors to kind of highlight what they do, what they bring to the market, what it looks like for them to be at the market and then also what they put into coming out. Because not only are we doing a lot behind the scenes, but you want to talk about a lot of work. These vendors, I mean they're at it every single day. I mean like so much kudos to them to to do this every single Saturday year round. So we try to bring a lot of awareness to that right and then.
Speaker 1:So where can someone watch your podcast?
Speaker 2:so we do have a YouTube channel and we are on Buzzsprout and all the major podcasting platforms, so I will get on and share that to our city Facebook page and.
Speaker 1:Instagram to kind of give more awareness to the farmers market and the different vendors that are coming. Yeah, do you have anything else that you want to let the community know about the farmers market or a message to them?
Speaker 2:I think, just overall. You know, we always try to let the community know how much the support means when you come out to the farmer's market Because, like I said, it doesn't always mean coming out and spending money. These are your neighbors, these are the people that are in your community, they are in it with you, these are the people, at the end of the day, that you know you may have to rely upon. You know you're not going to do that at a big box store. You're not going to go to Walmart or Kroger and be able to, you know, have the same relationship and connection that you do with the people that are at the market or any farmer's market really. And I think in this day and age, it's important to stay true to your roots and to to make sure that you're still integrating within the community. So when everybody shows up, like I said, even like this past Saturday, when I'm watching that integration and everybody coexisting, that's what makes the market special.
Speaker 1:So just thanks for your support for that so, hannah, I want to thank you for joining me today and letting the community know more about the farmer's market. Thanks, and yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1:So I just want to let everyone know if you've never been to the farmer's market, just come out out there on a Saturday, like Hannah said, even if you don't buy anything, just enjoy the vibe, enjoy the outdoors and the sun. Yeah, for sure, and we're there every Saturday, 9 am to noon. So, and then twilight Tuesdays Yep, those will be July through September, 4 pm to 7 pm. So if you have to work on a Saturday, maybe after work on a Tuesday, you can come out and enjoy it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely swing by. Yep, Okay, well, thank you. That was Inside Richmond, the City's Pulse, keeping you updated and informed. Join us next time.