John and Lorian Roethlein conceived the Payson Farmers Market at the end of 2008 and opened July 4th, 2009 as a way to make a difference in their community. It’s created a gathering place in Payson where people can meet their friends, and it expands the availability of fresh local food in our community.

Starting with 12 vendors in the Community Presbyterian Church parking lot and now entering our 16th season with a prominent Beeline Hwy location and having 50 vendors, we’re thrilled to say all areas of the market are going very, very well. Here are some of the results so far…

• Fresh, local, organically grown food is available to the 20,000 Rim Country residents and the many visitors traveling through town.
 

• We’re a USDA sponsored Farmers Market offering the SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), and WIC (Woman, Infants and Children) nutrition program certified, giving low income residents access to fresh, local grown produce

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• The Payson Farmers Market is a Locavore style market where all food comes from within 100 miles and sold directly from the farm or food maker to you.

• New farmers are joining the local food movement and turning their acreage into farms, and existing farmers are expanding the size of their farms.

• Hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent in our community and studies show money spent with local businesses has an exponentially greater impact on the local economy.

• Live, local entertainment on Saturday's substantially strengthens the local arts community

• Thousands of dollars were contributed to local non-profits through their participation in the market

• Many other things are being accomplished, but to sum it up, we believe the Payson Farmers Market makes living here better for everyone

• I’ll end with a review from Patrick B on Yelp.com:

“My family and I stopped by this growing farmers market for the first time on Sunday (ed. should be Saturday) and were absolutely impressed. Not only was it slightly bigger than I imagined, but the market also captures a sense of the "old" Payson that I grew up knowing. There were several different vendors, most of whom were happy to chat about their products or any other topic -- the gentleman from one of the bakeries came out from his booth to say hello to our dog and talk to us for a few minutes. The people here are great, and it's wonderful to see such a genuine idea thriving in Payson”.