Three years ago, this farmers market, just south of City Hall in Buda, quietly shut down. A group of local merchants are trying to replant the seeds of a new farmers market in Buda City Park. (Photo by Jen Biundo)
by JEN BIUNDO
During her high school years, Jennifer Denton spent her weekends getting her hands dirty at a farmers market in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
“That just really got me started with Parker County Peaches and east Texas tomatoes,” Denton recalled.
Now an aesthetician at Sheer Impressions Salon, Denton is leading the drive to replant the seeds of a farmers market in downtown Buda.
When she moved to Buda three years ago, Denton frequented the small farmers market that set up shop once a month on the greenbelt just south of City Hall. But tucked away and unpublicized, that market quietly faded away around 2007.
“I had actually inquired about what would be required to get the little market back where it used to be,” Denton said.
Denton went down to city hall and collected a thick stack of documents, but realizing the size of the task, she turned to Buda Drugstore owner Tammy Gray and the Buda Downtown Merchant’s group for help.
The organizers are reaching out to farmers and vendors who might be interested in renting a booth space at the re-envisioned market.
In addition to produce and herbs, they hope to attract vendors selling high-quality prepared food, some hand-made crafts, and products like breads, pies, jams, jellies and hot sauce. In keeping with the local food movement, they plan to restrict all products to a 100-mile radius from Buda.
Unlike the old farmers market, tucked off the beaten path south of City Hall, the new market will likely set up shop under the pavilion in Buda City Park, offering protection from rain and access to parking, bathrooms and electrical outlets.
Though they haven’t yet set a regular schedule for the reinvented market, the merchants are considering setting it up on one or more Thursdays each month, to coincide with the “First Thursday” events.
While the new market may not be up and running until next spring, the group is hoping to launch at least one market day in the late fall before closing for the winter.
Buda Tourism Director Alisha Burrow is working with the merchants to organize the new market.
“Ultimately, I think that having the farmers market here in Buda would promote that ‘buy local’ concept,” Burrow said. “It would really benefit the community all the way around.”
