The following post is a paid sponsorship from Downtown Roanoke, Inc. If your business or organization is interested in sponsorships or advertisements in The Rambler, please learn more here.

With the market season upon us, Downtown Roanoke, Inc. (DRI) is making it easier for Roanoke Valley residents to purchase farm-fresh produce through its Mega Market Match days at the Historic City Market. There’s nothing better than a sun-ripened tomato at the height of summer – it tastes even better when you can get it for half price.

“The program ensures that residents have access to nutritious fruits and vegetables,” said Izzy Post, DRI’s Director of Marketing and Communications.

DRI has planned four Mega Market Match days to take place at the Historic City Market this summer. The program aims to increase access to healthy food options for low-income Roanoke Valley residents while boosting the local economy.

On a typical day, EBT/SNAP cardholders may use their funds to purchase eligible items at the Historic City Market, with a market match up to $20.

Those funds will be doubled on Mega Market Match days when EBT/SNAP shoppers use their cards, up to $100 per person. The program is sponsored by Member One Federal Credit Union.

Program participants use their EBT/SNAP cards to purchase wooden tokens, which can be redeemed with most market vendors on produce like fresh melons, muscadine grapes, sweet corn, green beans, nectarines, farm fresh eggs … you name it.

The difference? Market vendors produce their items within an average of 25 miles of the city. Many times, the produce has been harvested within a week of going to market, according to Barbara Kochendarfer of Woods Farm. You can’t find produce much fresher than that.

That’s why the tomatoes are so much brighter and plumper, the green beans so much crisper. When you buy a jar of pickles or jam, the vendor can tell you the name and relation of the person who canned it.

Parents will walk through the market and teach their young children the names of fruit or vegetables, Kochendarfer said. The older kids will know the names well, having visited many times.

“Families are empowered to make healthy food choices,” said Post. Access to nutritious fruits and vegetables promotes health and well-being, she said.

The farmers market is a community, with the same vendors returning week after week. Visitors get to know their farmers and where their food comes from, Post said. Buying directly from the farmer also allows shoppers to ask questions — to learn more about gardening or how to prepare a certain vegetable or use a certain herb.

Kochendarfer passes on information as readily as she sells her goods. She advises a trio of women on which plants will repel deer in the garden and stops to say hello to acquaintances. She tells about other vendors, touting the determination of the other farmers, the skills of the artisans. Her family has vended at the city market since the 1930s, she said. They are almost as synonymous with the market as the market itself.

It is vitally important to continue to support the region’s local farmers, Post said. The Mega Market Match program enables Roanoke Valley shoppers to use their purchasing power to support small-scale agriculture while making healthy and sustainable food choices for their own families.

“It helps keep the money here in town,” Kochendarfer said.

Weekends at the market are a tradition. The Historic City Market has operated since 1882, which makes it the oldest continuously operating open-air farmers market in Virginia.

On Mega Market Match Days, shoppers will experience that bustling market atmosphere, the Saturday in the square. It’s more than a day at the grocery store – it is a day out in the community.

EBT/SNAP users will have their dollars doubled at the Historic City Market on the following dates:

• May 11
• June 15
• July 13
• August 10

Shoppers can purchase tokens by visiting the DRI office at 213 Market Street on weekdays or the market information tent between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Find more information here.

The Historic City Market is located along Market Street in downtown Roanoke. Parking is available on the street or in parking lots and garages – several PARK Roanoke garages are free at night and on the weekends. The market is also accessible by Valley Metro’s Star Line Trolley.

If your business or organization is interested in sponsorships or advertisements in The Rambler, please learn more here.