By: Reece Kovacs
Tucked into West Beaver Street sits the Jacksonville Farmers Market. This historic market is the oldest continually operating market in Florida.
It began in 1938 with local farmers and vendors coming together to create a communal space to sell their products. Throughout the next few decades, the market would bounce between various owners until Beaver Street Fisheries purchased the grounds and market in 1986. After 70 years on its original grounds, the market moved across the street to its current location in 2008.
The market has kept to its origin story, renting space to wholesale produce vendors and others that are local to the First Coast area. The general manager, Greg Tison, is a Floridian himself and has spent the past 16 years running the market. What started as a humble community sale expanded to create an environment that separates this space from other farmers’ markets across the city.
Unlike other markets that are typically only open on the weekends; the Jacksonville Farmers Market is open seven days a week and has vendors that have been with the market since its grounds shift in 2008.
The vendors and producers are also unlike other markets. According to Tison, one of the main attractions of the market is its access to large quantities of produce. The market is nestled downtown at the intersection of produce trains that run from the northeast down Florida. Here, people can find their produce needs for the week with fresher and likely larger options.
The market also boasts about vendors who sell their local produce grown and harvested in their backyards. Most of this produce is different to the wholesale vendors; the wholesale vendors typically sell produce such as carrots while the local produce vendors have tropical fruits. These vendors also have other varying products, from local grown honey, to candles, sweet treats, and boiled peanuts. One even specializes in whipped flavored honey.
L&B Backyard Honey is a small business owned and operated by Laura and Buck Hardee. The couple is local to the Duval area and live a few miles from the Market. They currently have 8 beehives in their backyard, where the busy bees help the couple in creating a delicious treat. The couple is planning to double the number of hives soon to keep up with their growing demand.
The market has a little something for everyone, even those who enjoy coffee and a stroll down rows of goodies and treats.