Local farmers markets bring the pick of the peck to the table.

This is more than your average roadside stand. It’s an invitation to join us under our tents and truly experience fresh. Like a peck of juicy canning tomatoes. Pumpkins for pies. Peppers for pickling. Squash so buttery and yellow, you won’t believe your eyes… or your taste buds.

It’s what we like to call fresh thinking, but that doesn’t mean we’re new to the market. For over 100 years, farmers have been selling their produce directly to locals and passersby alike through farmers markets within the region. The Downtown Saginaw Farmers Market (DSFM), which originated in 1910 on Saginaw’s Federal Avenue, has since moved and expanded, but has kept its roots strong in the heart of the city. Since 1992, with the help of the PRIDE in Saginaw organization, the DSFM has grown from a few select market days throughout the season to a full-blown feast of sights, smells, and, of course, impeccable flavors.

Today, the DSFM opens its tent to the tables and wagons of over 50 vendors and operates 4 days a week, with the season beginning in late May and extending through late October. Also open at during late summer and early fall are the Midland Area Farmers Market, Downtown Bay City Farmers Market, Chuck’s Bay County Farmers’ Market, and the Frankenmuth Farmers Market, all of which feature a prime selection of fresh produce, plants and flowers, and freshly baked goods.

Great Lakes Bay Region Farmers Markets are about more than selling produce. Many of these local markets are proud to support Project FRESH, a program designed to make fresh produce available to low-income and nutritionally-at-risk consumers through Michigan’s farmers markets.

Bring a friend, bring your family, but mostly bring your appetite, because there’s nothing quite like a crisp, red Michigan apple, fresh veggies by the basket, bushel, and barrel, or piping hot soups with so many homegrown ingredients, you’ll never go near a can again. It’s all here in our Great Lakes Bay Region Farmers Markets, just waiting to be picked…