We show up on Saturday mornings without thinking twice. We grab our berries, snag a few tomatoes, wait in line for Acme’s croissants or Peaceful Belly’s roasted peppers (iykyk), pick out flowers, wander around with a coffee, take our out-of-town friends. The Boise Farmers Market fits easily into our weekend rhythm. But beneath that easy ritual is something extraordinary.

Writing this story made me realize how lucky we are. That we have farmers and ranchers who spend every day growing and raising food for us and who show up each weekend with the literal fruits of their labor. How wild is it that we can put our money directly into the hand that planted the seed? How cool is it that we can ask the person who grew the flowers how they did it?

We don’t just shop at a market. We are participating in a relationship.

Now in its 13th season, the Boise Farmers Market hosted 132 vendors – farmers, ranchers, growers, and food businesses. Each carries their own story of how local food shapes their work and their lives.

​More Than a Market: Why Farmers Markets Matter is a new video series that captures those stories. Created with support from a grant from the USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and filmed by local storyteller and videographer Guy Hand, the nine-part video series shows the Boise Farmers Market for what it really is: a community hub, an access point for healthy food, and an evolving local food system.

How the market began

In its current iteration, the Boise Farmers Market has been around for 13 seasons. Before that, many of its vendors were part of the Capital City Public Market. As that market grew and added more non-food vendors, some farmers saw a drop in sales and an opportunity to create another market that was completely focused on local food.

“That was really the impetus for the Boise Farmers Market being established,” said Amber Beierle, Executive Director of the Boise Farmers Market. “To create an agriculturally focused market where locally grown food was the center and uplifting everything about a local food system.”

When you go to BFM today, you’ll still see a few “food-adjacent” artisans (things like wooden spoons or knife sharpening) but the heart of the market is produce, proteins, and prepared foods made with local ingredients.

Vendors at the market have to meet a pretty robust set of guidelines in order to be involved. To name a few:

• Vendors must be involved in the production of what they sell. The person you see at a booth is involved in the farm, the kitchen, or the process behind it.
• Prepared-food and specialty vendors are required to use local ingredients. At least one primary ingredient must be locally sourced, and the market is steadily tightening that standard.
• Products that aren’t grown in Idaho are generally not allowed, even if they’re delicious.

This is not a gatekeeping process; it’s a way to ensure that when you are shopping at the market for local food, you know you can find it.

The market’s customer base is growing, too. Over the course of this season, between 130,000-150,000 people came through the market. On slower days, the market saw about 2,500 shoppers. But on the big days in the spring and summer, it’s closer to 7,000 people.

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Making food accessible

One of the most impactful pieces of Boise Farmers Market is what’s happening behind the scenes to make fresh, local food accessible to all.

The market has long accepted SNAP benefits. They run a “Double Up Food Bucks” program where the market offers a $20 match to spend specifically on fruits, vegetables, and fruit- and vegetable-bearing plants. The program also makes this super easy on vendors. Instead of each vendor becoming a SNAP retailer (which can be a daunting process), BFM acts as the central seller. Shoppers using SNAP stop by the market info booth, run their card for however much they’d like to spend, and receive tokens to use around the market on SNAP-eligible items.

Last month, while the government was shut down and SNAP benefits abruptly came to a stop, the market immediately mobilized to make sure their SNAP customers were able to access food. The announcement of a halt in funding came on October 27. On October 28, the market announced it would offer $40 food vouchers to current SNAP recipients.

“When this shift happened, we knew we needed to do more,” said Amber. “And it was the biggest win-win that there ever could be, where that money goes directly back to our farmers and it's good, local food and healthy food options that are available to our SNAP customers.”

Since the beginning of November, BFM has distributed over $60,000 in funds to over 1,600 SNAP recipients and food insecure families. This includes voucher and grocery giveaways as well as assistance on the Boise Mobile Market stops. Now through the end of the year, instead of a $20 match, the market will match 100%.

It’s a huge support for families going into the holidays and a critical boost for farmers and producers during the slower winter months.

The market’s ability to move quickly isn’t new. During covid, BFM launched a drive-thru market out of necessity. It was the only way to keep food moving and farms afloat when in-person shopping wasn’t allowed.

Five years later, the drive-thru is still here and thriving. It’s a way for the market to offer accessible shopping for folks who can’t physically walk the market, people who feel overwhelmed in big, crowded spaces, and even for busy families who’d rather do their shopping online and just swing through on Saturday.

That kind of adaptation – responding to what’s happening in real time and then building it into the ongoing fabric of the market – is exactly what the More Than a Market video series is trying to capture.

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More than a market

The series was funded by a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) grant, which supports projects that expand direct producer-to-consumer markets and increase access to local and regional foods. The grant fit the Boise Farmers Market perfectly: it’s about strengthening local food systems through education, outreach, and community-driven programs.

A committee brainstormed the storylines for each video, considering seasonality, sustainability, unique programs, and the big themes that apply to farmers markets everywhere, told through the lens of Boise.

“We've got over 132 vendors – it's 132 different stories just right there that we could tell,” said Amber. “But at the end of the day it's a story about community and it's a story about our relationship with food and making sure that we know where it's coming from. We're supporting our neighbors and that's what the Boise farmer's market's all about.”

The stories

​Drive-Thru Market​

The series kicks off with the story of BFM’s drive-thru. Born in the early days of covid, it has evolved into a crucial access point for the community. Customers order in advance from market vendors and pick up their groceries on Saturday mornings. The video shows how a crisis solution became a permanent way to support farmers and serve people who can’t or don’t want to navigate a busy in-person market.

​Solar Powered Strawberries​

This piece follows Jo Anne and Byron Smith of Smith Berry Farm, longtime market favorites known for their insanely good strawberries. In 2015, they received a solar power grant from the USDA’s Rural Development Agency and now power their entire farm with solar energy. It’s a story about more than juicy berries. It’s about soil health, sustainability, and investing in systems that feed people and protect the land at the same time.

​In Love With Local​

If the series has a heart piece, this is it. In Love With Local is community members sharing poignant, heartfelt, and compelling reasons why they shop at farmers markets. It’s a love letter to farmers markets and to BFM in particular with real food, real people, and the feeling of belonging when you show up to the market on a Saturday morning – rain or shine.

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​Harvest Moon Dinner​

This video takes you behind the scenes of one of BFM’s biggest annual events and fundraisers: the Harvest Moon Dinner. The dinner, held at Rice Family Farms, brought together chefs and farmers for a five-course collaboration meal under the late-summer sky. The event offers chefs a rare chance to collaborate with their peers and connect directly with the local farms that supply their ingredients.

​Farm to Vase​

A century ago, most flowers in the US were grown locally. Today, about 75% are imported from places like Ecuador and Colombia, where poor labor conditions, low wages, and heavy pesticide use are widespread. Davis McDonald of Fiddlers Green Farm and Sun Dog Farm, saw the conventional flower trade up close before choosing a different path.

​Weathering the Storm​

This story dives into the market’s Vendor Assistance Fund and the way the market shows up when disaster hits. After a severe storm in June 2024 caused catastrophic crop losses for several farmers, the market community rallied: vendors, customers, and supporters came together to help producers recover.

​Closing the Loop: Composting​

Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword at BFM; it’s baked into the way the market operates. This video follows the market’s composting program, launched last year in partnership with Timber Creek Recycling. Through partnerships and vendor commitment the Boise Farmers Market is reducing landfill waste by as much as 40%.

​Sharing the Bounty​

This episode steps behind the booths of the market’s specialty and prepared-food vendors. These are the folks turning local ingredients into breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, sauces, snacks, and ready-to-eat meals. Their commitment to sourcing from local farms means “farm-to-table” isn’t just something you see on a restaurant menu; it’s happening right in the parking lot every Saturday morning.

Watch the series & celebrate the season

This Thursday, you’re invited to see More Than a Market: Why Farmers Markets Matter on the big screen.

On Thursday, December 4, 2025 from 5–8pm, the Boise Farmers Market is hosting Reel Farmers - Celebration & More Than a Market Video Series at the Idaho Film Society (1212 W Bannock Street). Doors open at 5pm and there will be a special “toast to farmers” to kick things off at 6pm. The evening also includes light snacks and a no-host bar. Tickets are $10 and support a successful 2026 market season.

Join the celebration of another year of growing, eating, and building community together at the Boise Farmers Market. Next season, maybe you’ll see the market a little differently when you walk in.

Also, the Boise Farmers Market is still going though December 20. Here's the current hours and location for the Winter Market and Drive-Thru Market.

Thanks for reading!

With love from Boise,

Marissa

PS - new month = new Reader Rewards giveaway!! 👇

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