Downtown College Park Farmers Market

Hundreds of students and College Park, Md. residents stop by on Sunday for the weekly Downtown College Park Farmers Market on Knox Road. The event takes place every week and is home to various produce and food vendors looking to sell their products. 

Although some vendors come from areas further away from the town, the majority of the vendors are local. The cider, which sells by the jug, sells fast and comes from Miller Farms nearby. 

Sam Barns, who works at Toigo Orchards in Shippensburg, Pa., weighs some apples to add up a customer’s total.  Even though they’re located in Pennsylvania, “some people say that [they’re] local,” Barns says.

“We sell all year long,” says Sam Barns, an employee selling products from Toigo Orchards at the Farmers Market. Although this market’s last day is on Nov. 17, Barns and her orchard continue selling their products all year long, as some products, like these bell peppers, are put into cold storage. 

A local five-person band plays some jazz tunes while the farmer’s market takes place around them. Each week, they try to get a band to play, as well as a food demonstration, says Tricia Marie, a KSM Marketing representative.  

“Every Sunday we do pretty well at the farmer’s market,” says Duncan Hawvermale as he stands by his smoker at the Farmers Market. The senior accounting major at the University of Maryland works with Bill’s Backyard Barbecue, a barbecue tent that frequents the market. 

The trash separation sign sits on display in the parking lot of the Farmers Market. Sustainability practices are something the market tries to promote each week. 

Jason Brown, an employee with Miller Farms, starts cleaning up his produce and putting away empty cartons toward the end of the day. “As long as it stays warm and people keep coming, we’ll stay open,” he says.  

Duncan Hawvermale from Bill's Backyard Barbecue puts away all of his supplies after being outside in the sun from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He prepares to do the same thing next week when he returns for the Farmers Market on Oct. 27.

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