The Original Farmers’ Market (OFM) at the historic Indianapolis City Market – A Historic Building and Event

This farmers’ market closes a city block length of street on a fairly well traveled road. Tents line both sides of the street by the sidewalks while customers walk the center to do their shopping. There are many prepared food products. People on their lunch breaks can choose from a number of baked goods as well as fresh apple cider, and honey lemonade.

This picture looks north toward the Indianapolis City Market building. Its many restaurants provide additional attraction to the lunchtime crowd. Parking is plentiful in surrounding on and off-street locations. The City-county building is adjacent to the south and is a source of many farmers’ market customers.

As a part of the City Market’s strategic plan it intends to use The Original Farmers’ Market to reclaim “its agricultural and food resource identity” and “strive to produce the premier Farmer’s Market in Indiana” (http://www.indianapoliscitymarket.com, 2002). Stevi Stoez, former Market Manager says that it was a grassroots effort to get this farmers’ market started in 1997 (personal correspondence, Oct 18, 2004). It is now a popular lunchtime spot for many professionals of downtown Indianapolis.

The Original Farmers’ Market at the historic Indianapolis City Market takes place Wednesdays from 10:00am until 1:30pm. This market is located in downtown Indianapolis on Market Street between the streets of Alabama and Delaware. This venue is the one block length of Market Street, temporarily closed to traffic, between the City-County Building and the City Market. It is the site of the old Indianapolis City Market of the 1800’s. The Indianapolis City Market is a large historic building that houses several food-court style restaurants of several types, including Middle Eastern, Cajun, Mexican, and Asian. Its goal is to bring a sense of community and to attract people to the downtown area.

This large farmers’ market has about fifty vendors who are charged $100 for one space for the approximately 26 week season. A double space costs the vendor $245. The farmers’ market guidelines state that products do not have to have organic or natural certification must be grown in Indiana. Products cannot be resold. The City Market is run by a thirteen member board of directors six of whom are appointed by the mayor and seven are appointed by the Indianapolis City-Council. An extended season exists, but there were few vendors in the winter of 2004. The winter farmers’ market is moved into the City Market building. There it shares space with the restaurants booths (http://www.indianapoliscitymarket.com, 2002).