Special to Tiger Media Network
The Downtown Hays Market will celebrate National Farmers Market Week from Aug.
4 to 10. The week will be commemorated with a market preview video, giveaways, recognitions
and a proclamation signing.
The public is invited to participate in all festivities on Facebook, at the market and attend the signing at Hays City Hall. Additionally, be sure to cast a vote for the Downtown Hays Market at https://markets.farmland.org before July 31, 2024.
Starting in 2013, the Downtown Hays Market has been running for more than 10 years. Before the
sun, approximately 28 vendors gather under the pavilion to set up their tables for the day. The tables
contain fresh produce, soaps, jewelry, clothes, art, starter plants and more.
This year the Downtown Hays Market has more than 50 vendors registered. Vendors come from across Kansas to sell to the Hays community. The market is proud to offer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) customers the chance to shop for fresh and healthy foods. EBT cardholders can also take advantage of the Double Up Food Bucks program at the market. The DUFB program,
funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, gives low-income individuals and families additional dollars to purchase more fruits and vegetables. All of the produce vendors accept SNAP, and those that sell fruits and vegetables accept Double Up Food Bucks as well. This has been an essential tool in fighting food insecurity in western Kansas.
The market is open from 7:30 to 11 a.m. every Saturday morning from May to October. It
offers music, free coffee from Breathe Coffee House provided by Hays CVB and Downtown
Hays Development, free parking, a featured guest and a shaded smoke-free environment. Stop
by the market, under the Downtown Pavilion at 10th and Main on The Bricks in Downtown
Hays.