Rooted in Athens: 14 Years of the Farmers Market

(Post sponsored by Tinsley Title, Holt Wrecker, R&R lawn specialists, Gibson Pharmacy.)

By Michael V. Hannigan

I recorded my first podcast while sitting in a pickup truck. My guest was DJ Warren.

The Farmers Market had just gotten permission to set up in the City parking lot behind The Texan Theater. We parked outside the old City Hall/Police Station — the one that’s not there anymore — and talked about farmers and food and why the market mattered.

Back then, the market was just getting off the ground.

Saturday morning, I sat down with DJ again, this time downtown, in the middle of a crowd. A good crowd moved among 50 vendors, enjoying about as pretty a day as you get in Athens as the Farmers Market opened its new season. The market that started as a handful of tents is now a weekend tradition.

DJ’s been at the heart of it for 14 years; fighting for it and watching it become something bigger than just a place to buy vegetables for an entire community.

“That’s a huge part for me,” DJ said. “Seeing families grow and seeing them grow with the market and the community. Seeing the same people and knowing that they enjoy coming to the market. It gives them something to do and people to see, and interaction where they might not get that anywhere else.”

What most folks don’t see is how much work it takes to make Saturday mornings look this easy.

DJ works a full-time job during the week and still puts in 20-plus hours a week on the market — answering emails, organizing vendors, solving problems, and handling paperwork most people don’t even know exists. Just last week, she spent several hours helping a single new vendor get started.

“It’s more than my heart. I think it’s my whole self,” she said. “It’s not a sometimes kind of thing. It’s an all or nothing.”

It’s never been a one-woman show. DJ is the first to say the market wouldn’t be where it is without help — from dedicated vendors, loyal customers, and partners like the City of Athens and Trinity Valley Community College.

That sort of community effort wasn’t new to her. It was that way long before the market started.

DJ's roots in Athens run deep. Her grandfather laid brick on the square. Her grandmother worked her way up from bank teller to senior vice president. And her father worked closely with Ginger Murchison -- the same Ginger whose park is around the corner from the market.

She grew up seeing what it looked like when people gave back — and she’s determined to do the same.

And if you’re wondering how that kind of commitment shows up in real life, just head downtown on a Saturday morning.

The Athens Farmers Market runs May through October. Hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in May and June, then 9 a.m. to noon July through October. It’s held downtown at 110 W. Tyler Street.

In the off-season, pop-up markets are held on the first and fourth Saturdays of the month, and a special holiday market is scheduled for November 28–29.