Each week, BREADA’s team works to bring farmers markets to several Baton Rouge locations, welcoming longtime fans and first-time visitors. Along with hundreds of different food items, these markets buzz with friendly conversation, recipe exchanges between vendors and customers, and sometimes, live music and special activities, too. That adds up to a lot of social, economic, and cultural impact. Here are just a few statistics.
• 50 farmers, fishers and food producers participate in the BREADA markets
• Vendors hail from 14 Louisiana parishes
• $400K raised for the Small Farmers Survival Fund
• 250 kids participate monthly in BREADA's Red Stick Sprouts program
• 50+ businesses incubated at Baton Rouge's Main Street Market, downtown
BREADA hosts four farmers markets, including two year-round locations. The Saturday downtown market is the largest, held rain or shine from 8 am to noon at 5th and Main Streets. The bustling weekly gathering is held just outside the Main Street Market, where additional Saturday vendors set up indoors. The Main Street Market includes permanent eateries and retailers, tables for enjoying a meal or cup of coffee, and cooking demonstrations during market hours. The space will be renovated in 2023 to improve visitors’ experience.
The lively Thursday morning farmers market, also held year-round, is held in the parking lot of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at 6400 Perkins Road from 8 am to noon. A large group of farmers and producers consistently attends this market, including many familiar vendors from the Saturday market.
“The market is this free, open experience that everyone is invited to participate in,” says BREADA Executive Director Darlene Rowland. “We’ve been working hard to bring more shopping opportunities to different parts of town and with different hours.”
BREADA also hosts two seasonal markets, including the Tuesday afternoon market at the Main Library at 7711 Goodwood Boulevard. Held from 3 pm to 6 pm, the market is one of few in the region held in the afternoon, giving busy families a chance to pick up dinner ingredients and prepared meals on the way home from school or work. On Wednesdays, BREADA brings the market to the ExxonMobil YMCA at 7717 Howell Boulevard from 9 am to 12 pm. To give farmers a break from face-to-face sales, BREADA’s team staffs this market.
“We’re constantly finding new ways to make the markets customer-friendly and introduce new features that encourage traffic,” Rowland says.
