The much-anticipated kickoff of this season’s Farmers Market will take place on Wednesday, June 7th in Downtown Excelsior Springs from 4:00pm-7:00pm at the corner of Mill and Broadway Ave. In its second year, this year’s market is being sponsored by the Excelsior Springs Hospital along with the Excelsior Springs Chamber of Commerce, which is the organizer. New to the market this year is Tammy Murphy, who has been hired to be the Director of the Farmers Market and has been busy scheduling vendors, food trucks, activities, and more for this year’s market.
“We have been working hard to grow and make it a family fun event!” Tammy said. “SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks are new this year, so citizens should take advantage of that.”
The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services Department has been allowing Farmers Markets to apply to accept SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks since 2020. This is the first year that the program will be accepted at the Excelsior Springs Market. The department states on their website that they are committed to expanding access to these foods by SNAP recipients while supporting economic opportunities for farmers and producers.
While last year a grant made the market possible, this year’s sponsorship comes from the Excelsior Springs Hospital. The Hospital’s commitment to the community’s health has been made apparent by the investments that they’ve been making. Standing by their mission statement, Excelsior Springs Hospital is a community-driven health system, offering personalized, innovative health and wellness choices close to home. With the downtown not having a grocery store, the market is also serving an important resource for those who may have transportation barriers.
“We are so excited to sponsor the city’s Farmers Market,” said Excelsior Springs Hospital CEO Kristen DeHart. “We look forward to welcoming new vendors who will bring fresh produce to our community.”
The kickoff will have two food trucks present, Kona Ice and Raquelita’s Food. There will be new food trucks each week and customers can look forward to having Ziggy & Zaggy’s Food Barn, Lip Smackin BBQ, Taste of Aloha, Brainfreeze, Fill’em Up, KC Ice Shack, Twisted Taters, and more! In addition to the food trucks, there will be vendors such as Brett Siemens – Honey, McCall’s Produce, Bee & Co Flowers, Haisley & Tanner Co, Pleasant Valley Petals, Angela Heape – Eggs, Sugar Creek Soaps, LLC, M&N Designs, LLC, Runamuck Homestead, Pasture to Plate Co, 6B Farm, LLC, Tryst Falls Soaps, and Nikki Kilgore.
Local organizations are getting in on the Farmers Market fun by offering activities each week! The MU Extension Council will be offering cooking demonstrations to teach residents new culinary techniques and meals you can make from food you get at market. The Mid-Continent Public Library’s Excelsior Springs Branch will be offering Storytime for kiddos. Aces Cat Sanctuary plans to have cats for adoption. Knit Ewe Together will be offering knitting demonstrations. Attendees can look forward to honey demonstrations and a regenerative agricultural/invasive species workshop, too! The Market is continuing to add to their list of activities that will be offered throughout the summer.
The Kickoff event on June 7th will feature Bubba Jump’s Inflatables, baby goats, and a cooking demonstration by MU Extension Council. Each week will also feature business and vendor giveaways. The market will take place from 4:00pm-7:00pm each Wednesday evening between June 7th and October 25th. For more information and for getting involved, please contact Farmers Market Coordinator Tammy Murphy.
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