Prescott Farmers Market

As a vital part of the economy, the mission of Prescott Farmers Market is to support and expand local agriculture, cultivate a healthy community and increase access to affordable local food.

The Prescott Farmers Market (PFM) began in 1997 in downtown Prescott with a handful of growers and has grown to host more than 50 vendors at the height of the summer season. In 2014 PFM launched a winter market based on requests from local growers and food vendors. PFM operates a year-round market in Prescott, which is a cornerstone of the community, bringing food and people together. Our tagline is "See your neighbor. Meet your farmer. Know your food." It embodies the sentiments expressed in the testimonials below.

We are a producer-only market, which means that only people who grow or make their own products are allowed to be regular vendors. We also require processed food vendors to use a percentage of AZ-grown ingredients in every product they sell. PFM was originally a growers' cooperative before receiving nonprofit status in 2012. Our organization has three full-time and seven part-time staff members.

In addition to the weekly market, we administer several programs at PFM:

Prescott Community Food Hub: In Fall 2021, PFM was awarded a 3-year grant to pilot a food hub featuring a commissary kitchen, food incubator program and farm-to-restaurant wholesale aggregation center. PFM's commissary kitchen will be a reliable and affordable space for food entrepreneurs. To complement the kitchen, PFM will develop and pilot a small food business incubator program that will equip entrepreneurs with the basics to run a successful business. To keep local food a central component of this project, the commissary kitchen will also have space to aggregate local produce and meats in a central location for use in the kitchen as well as wholesale distribution to local restaurants and institutions. PFM will extend the same support that they offer to the keystone farmers and ranchers at the Saturday market to new and beginning farmers and ranchers to help them enter the marketplace.

Prescott Community Compost Program: Launched in Spring 2021, this pilot project is an educational site that relies on hands-on community involvement from the collection of raw materials to the distribution of finished compost. Each week, 125 customers deposit food scraps at the farmers market. These scraps, along with kitchen scraps collected from 7 restaurants in Prescott, are processed by 20 volunteers. Finished compost is distributed to gardeners at the farmers market and the process of growing more food continues! Volunteers at every step learn about best management practices for composting.

Feed Your Neighbors Program: In March 2020, we launched the Feed Your Neighbors program because the COVID-19 pandemic made us realize that our role in the community of northern Arizona is more than gathering farmers, ranchers and food producers. It's getting the food they grow to the people and places that it's needed most. Nearly every weekend, we partner with local agencies and nonprofits to build boxes of local items to be delivered to community members who can't access fresh food easily. Please read the testimonials below for a sense of the impact of this work.

At the market, we also support programs administered by other support agencies like the Double Up Food Bucks Arizona program and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program, which both support our mission to increase access to affordable local food.

Testimonials

MARKET TESTIMONIALS:
"This is one of the best markets I've been to! Always local, always fresh, good food, so much fun! Don't forget to bring your reusable bags! Gotta get there early for the best selection, they run out of things quickly on busy days!" -Stephane M

"Love this!! Great place to go with your grandkids and get delicious homemade goods and delicious local produce. Added to the fun was Peaceful Outlaws who did " Little red riding hood" and entertained us and got the kids dancing. They want to go every time they see me.. it has created memories that I hope they remember about me that are good. The goat soap is divine, the fresh baked breads and desserts are top notch. It's definitely worth stopping by." -Carol C

"Check it out and support our local growers! So many options from baked goods, fresh produce, coffee, roasted peppers, mushrooms, Samosas, grass fed beef, etc. My son and I love going here!" -Loreen V

"Enjoyed my first visit to the Prescott Farmer's Market. Some farmers markets have mostly prepared foods and not enough fresh produce. That was not the case here. I found plenty of produce along with baked goods (including vegan and gluten free) goat milk soap, dates, tamales, samosas, kombucha, grass fed beef, succulents and more. My falafel from Claudine's Kitchen was fresh and tasty, the pickled turnips added a nice crunch. My daughter enjoyed her red pork tamales and my husband was a fan of the chorizo and egg burrito...