‘A different focus’: Boise Farmers Market creates a supportive community for food and agricultural vendors

Photo by Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

Located in downtown Boise, Idaho, the Boise Farmers Market provides a food-oriented marketplace that includes local small businesses based in Boise and other nearby cities. 

Boise Farmers Market, located in Midtown, is open every Saturday morning from April through October. 

Boise Farmers Market manager Annie Garrett shared that the market split from the Capital City Market nine years ago to create a food-oriented market predominately made up of farm and agricultural vendors based in Boise and surrounding cities.

The market strives to create a supportive community for local food, farming and agricultural businesses.

The market’s mission statement, “Farmers you can trust. Food you can trace,” is upheld by the market’s board, which is made up of its own vendors. 

“One of the requirements to be on the board is that you have to be a vendor,” Garrett said. “It’s really helped with all of the decisions that we’ve made as a market to really have the vendor input, and the vendor opinion when we’re making guidelines, and writing rules and regulations.”

Soraya Mazloomi, the market’s board president, is also the owner of Acme Bakeshop, a family-owned bakery based in Garden City, Idaho.

“We really believe in this market because it has just such a different focus than any of the other markets in town,” Mazloomi said. “The people that come to shop [at] our market are there to buy food, and they’re there to support the local food economy.”

Acme Bakeshop has been a vendor with the market since the very beginning, selling various bread products and pastries as well as utilizing local flours and produce from other venues. 

Boise Farmers Market takes pride in its goals to support local farmers and participate in Idaho’s agricultural economy. 

True Roots Organics owner and farmer Ian Kilgore emphasized the sense of community between vendors at the market, as well as the support from the market in promoting more business for vendors. 

[Photo of a vendor stall at Boise Farmers Market.]
Photo by Taya Thornton | The Arbiter

“Since [the market] started, they’ve grown quite a bit and so have a lot of businesses with them,” Kilgore said. “We’ve seen a lot of businesses start out at the market that have permanent locations downtown now.”

True Roots Organics is a longtime vendor with the market, selling herbs, fruits and vegetables farmed locally in Idaho.

The market also strives to grow new farmers in the community by providing a support system made up of already established farming vendors. 

Katie Lanni, owner of Galloping Gertie’s Goatery, shared that this is her second year selling with Boise Farmers Market.

Lanni’s business, based in Gentry, Idaho, sells goat milk products such as goat milk caramels using other local ingredients from local farms, as well as goat milk lotions, goat milk soaps and beeswax products such as lip balms using local beeswax. 

“Definitely the best farmers market I’ve ever worked at. It’s a lot more professional. People help each other out,” Lanni said. “It’s all organized really really well and set up well. They put a lot of work into making it run, you can tell.”

Lanni also shared that during COVID Boise Farmers Market organized a drive-thru style market that allowed vendors to still sell their products despite pandemic restrictions. 

Boise Farmers Market creates a space for the community to learn about food sustainability and provides the opportunity for the public to support Idaho’s local food economy.

The market is open every Saturday morning from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at 1500 Shoreline Dr. Come out and spend a weekend morning downtown supporting small local businesses!

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