If you're looking for something fun to do on a Monday night, check out the Meridian Monday Night…read moreMarket. We visited the first one on June 2. They will be running every Monday night through October 6, from 4 PM to 9 PM at Storey Park (205 E. Franklin Rd.). The majority of the vendors are food trucks, and food vendors, many of who were new to me. I've included pictures of the few non-food vendors towards the end of the post. I was impressed by how many vendors there were, as well as the turnout. It made for a nice evening in the park.

From the owner: Meridian Monday Night Market is the only Monday night, family and kid friendly pop-up marketplace…read morein Meridian! With a wide array of vendors, food trucks and kid friendly activities! You can find us every Monday night on the green of Storey Park near downtown Meridian! Every kind of food and drink you can imagine, we have plenty to do whether you're young or young at heart! We have live music and a trivia contest (where you can win tickets to upcoming concerts and events at the Ford Idaho Center), face painting, hair tinsel, and free balloon animals for the kids, delicious food trucks with new options being added all the time, and even a beer garden with a full bar! If you like to sleep in on the weekends, this is your chance to experience the best that Meridian has to offer without waking up at the crack of dawn! (Spots available for interested vendors as well, application and details on our website)

The family that owns and runs Purple Sage Farms has a wonderful back story and does a remarkable…read morejob of providing herbs, salad greens, edible flowers and, in season, culinary peppers of all kinds to home cooks and eateries in the Boise Treasure Valley. In the last few years they are raising lambs too. (See PS at end for their info about the lamb breeds and how they are raised.) As avid home cooks who are passionate about supporting local farmers and using local sourced ingredients, my husband and I have been Purple Sage fans since we discovered them on a visit to the Boise Farmer's Market in 2013, before we moved to the area. In the ten years we have lived in the area Purple Sage fresh and dried products purchased at our local CoOp or the Boise Farmers Market in season, have been used in our kitchen on several days during every week for many dishes. Once we discovered Purple Sage was raising lamb, our favorite protein to cook when we use animals although we are vegetarian cooks about 90% of the time, we added that to the line up. We recently learned that Purple Sage will deliver (two days a week, I think) in the Treasure Valley and that includes lamb as well as all other items. As a cook with growing disabilities (I have had multiple sclerosis since college days) delivery sounded great to me to avoid a trip to the CoOp or Farmers Market. Delivery is free with an order of $25 or more and a modest delivery fee otherwise. Yesterday we tried the delivery service for the first time and it was such fun to have abundance of gourmet mix salad greens, arugula and fresh herbs including flowering thyme, chives, cilantro, peppermint, tarragon and dill delivered to our door along with a couple of lamb shoulder steaks and a half leg roast. (As with all local farmers who sell animal proteins, the lamb is frozen after butchering.) We are grateful for this family and the work they do to help nourish us! Here is a link for others who want to learn more about how to buy from Purple Sage Farms. https://www.purplesagefarms.com/shop PS - Here is what they say about their lamb: "We raise Katahdin and Dorper breeds, hair sheep known for their delicately flavored meat. These are smaller stature sheep that shed their wool--super practical for our farm. Our lambs are raised and finished on grass and are harvested at 90-100 lbs. We send animals for slaughter weekly April to December."

From the owner: For 30 years Purple Sage Farms has specialized in growing a wide range of organic herbs, greens and…read morevegetables. Today, that has expanded to over 250 varieties of crops ranging from the familiar and traditional to the obscure and exotic, whether they are culinary, medicinal or both. Purple Sage Farms greens and salad mixes change with the seasons and include a wide variety of colors, flavors, and shapes. Among all of the crops, nutrients are high and flavors are prominent. Our artisan products are crafted to perfection at the on-farm commercial kitchen. Purple Sage Farms herbs, spices, greens and vegetables are thoughtfully grown and proudly certified organic on our family farm in Middleton, Idaho.

We've been a customer here every summer. The staff has always been friendly with us, and enjoy the…read morecute stands! The fruits always taste great! We especially love their pies! That's the real reason we keep coming back! Best pies we've ever had and by far our favorite! We've tried them all and loved each one! I definitely recommend grabbing one!

Found this little place in October, what a great little store. Homemade jams, great fruit/vegetable…read moreselections, local grown, family business.

Town & Country Farmers Market is an awesome, locally-owned and locally-sourced farmers market. If…read moreyou are looking for an off-season item you may not find it here because its not in season, but that's the point. During the summer they have delicious corn, peaches, watermelon and strawberries. They also carry lots of local products like salsa, cheese and baked goods. The staff are very helpful and make sure you get the best pick of their produce. This place gets super busy so go on a Sunday or during the week. They accept cash and check only, leave your credit cards in the car.

LOVE this little market. Their produce is fresh, and they have a GREAT variety. They often carry…read morelocal in season produce as well. I love that I can find almost everything I need here: local, fresh eggs, Cloverleaf milk, local cheese, Zeppole Bread, various candies, beans, jams, salad dressing.....It's all here. The people who run it are very nice and help you with any questions you have. Compared to a huge grocery store, it's relaxing to actually feel like you have time to shop without being in someone else's way. Check it out! You won't be disappointed!

We love this market! There is a huge variety of vendors with a LOT of really cool options! Each…read moreweek there are consistent vendors and new vendors, they have a pretty cool variety of musicians and entertainment. Vendors all have a great attitude and are happy to see you! Local, fresh, wholesome environment, family friendly

The Nampa farmers market is truly one of our favorite places to be on Saturdays! The food, the…read morevibe, and overall vendors are fantastic. Coastal Oak BBQ has some amazing tri-tip sandwiches! Overall, it is a really great market and a wonderful community.

Me and my family met a nice gentleman named rob and he gave us some of their sweet corn, what a…read morenice surprise it was. We will be buying corn from them soon!

These guys work hard, have a great attitude and their corn is amazing!! Very organized pickup for…read moresmall and larger orders.

The first thing we noted is that it was very easy to park. The market was a lot smaller than most…read moreother markets I have been to, with only about twenty stalls and a couple of food trailers. About half the vendors were selling crafts and half were selling food. Personally, I'm not interested in crafts, so I'm taking away one star because there were only about a dozen choices for eating. We checked out the market in the morning because since it was going to be hot later in the day. Next time, though, we would rather come at lunch time because there was some lunch-time fare that looked delicious: a hot dog and sausage stand (with very friendly proprietors that were a lot of fun to chat with), a tamale stand, and a trailer that sold "Thai rolled ice cream" for dessert. Another thing different from other street markets I have been to is that there were a couple of stalls where kids were selling food. I'm not sure how the other vendors, whose prices were comparatively high, felt about kids who were basically setting up a lemonade stand with super cheap prices -- but we liked it. brownies for only 50 cents each, while we paid about $3.50 for a scone at a more traditional bakery vendor. There was also some music, although it happened to be a sort of mediocre singer-songwriter. Update: After reading more about the market, I see that it started out as a youth market and the organizers still encourage young people to participate. That's great! When we were there there were two youth-run food stalls, both with tasty treats at low prices.

Indigo and I love exploring farmers markets in the summertime. We heard about this one and ventured…read moreout. I was concerned about parking but found a free parking lot just across the street. Super cinchy! Located at Meridian City Hall Plaza, the Meridian Main Street market is easy to get to. It is bit smaller than other markets, less crowded, more relaxed and I wasn't worried about losing Indigo in a crowd. This market had a little bit of everything. We sampled only a few places and were not disappointed. We got coconut milk and rice pudding (will update when I find out the vendor name) , a soda coffee (so much better than it sounds) from Brew'd Attitude, a pastry (kouign amann) from Gaston's Bakery, and a candle from the Luna Light Project. We listened to live music as we enjoyed our drinks and newly acquired goodies before heading home. If crowds aren't your thing, you like to support small businesses, you enjoy live music and sunshine, then you will enjoy this pleasant market. Note: The Meridian Main Street Market is formerly known as the Meridian Youth Farmer's Market, please see their website for more details. Indigo gives the Meridian Main Street Market 40 stars for friendly people and fantastic treats!

OK, I will say I just moved here. Just moved from a city with a great Farmers Market, amazing I…read moremight say so I am a little bias...but this is not really a bias things, more a question. I have spent the last 25+ years going to the Minneapolis Farmers Market every weekend from April to Sept/Oct. Even on weeks that I wasn't going to be home I would come down for the people, the sounds, the smells, the fresh produce. I have this thing in my mind about Farmers Markets and supporting local businesses, local growers and buying good clean healthy products from people who do this year after year! Watching young and old, rich and poor come down to buy locally grown, seasonal products! As a trained Chef, lover of food, lover of people and crowds everything about a farmers market hits for me! I have been to a lot of famers markets in a lot of Cities and States as well, all along those lines for the most part... Now the Boise Farmers Market is very nice, lots of great vendors, good food trucks, Awesome Bagels (shout out to @Good Time Bagels) but the pricing for produce is quite honestly bizarre ! I have been here only 3 months but I find Boise overall to have a much lower cost of living to what I am used to. Restaurants, stores, coffee, alcohol...the little things I enjoy in life are much less expensive...except veggies at the Farmers Market! I would routinely pick up fresh lettuce of various types at the market for $1-2 dollars a head...Boise $7-10??? $7 dollars for a bag of lettuce, are you kidding me, $10..WTF??? $3 for a very, very small bunch of carrots...something that I would expect for $1...This is NOT the markets you would pick up your weekly need of veggies at, you couldn't afford to. $11 for a loaf of fresh bread, really...that's like double what I would pay at Whole Foods (whole paycheck as it's known). Now I get getting a fair price for your product, for your work, what you do...but it's a head of lettuce, it's a carrot...are the costs of growing that much more? That is a general question. MN is a very high tax State, especially compared to ID...not why I moved here at all, love the Boise vibe from the first time I came for work! I very much love this city, the people are so nice but the farmer market both confuses me and disappointed me all at the same time! I will come down ever weekend, I will enjoy the people, the smells, the food and coffee...especially the Bagels...but I will NOT buy lettuce which is such a shame! If you have ever eaten freshly grown lettuce compared to the stuff you get from the grocery store, everything about it is so much better. It actually has flavor, a crunch, taste...but not for $8 (using an average) that's just stupid! Where do the chefs buy fresh produce? Where do the families who want to buy local, want a healthier life for their families...where do they shop? Curious!

What a cute market! Tons of parking in the area or on the street as well as bike parking in the…read moremarket. Every one of the vendors we spoke with was friendly and the myriad of products available was great. We spit a breakfast sandwich (olive tapenade, sausage, egg, and more!) as well as a mango smoothie (tart) from one vendor, before walking through the market. We ended up buying a bottle of wine and a jar of jam for our journey home. Minus 1 star because it was a) a bit expensive and b) full of dogs even though signs say no dogs (I like them, but not everyone does - for those who don't, it would be good to enforce or at least be aware, it's not a dog free market).

Introduced to Richardson Family Farms' remarkably good organic strawberries as available in 2 lb…read more flats in early September at the Boise Co Op by friend Carl Y and his wife, my husband and I found these fragrant, perfectly ripe, super delicious gems to be the best strawberries of the season. That they were local and organic and harvested so late in the summer intrigued us enough to seek out Richardson's in Emmett and pick our own. WORKING MEDITATION There is a sort of meditation involved in being in a place like this doing the work of picking berries. The only sounds were the wind rustling plants, the click of grasshopper wings in flight, the buzz of yellow jackets seeking out the fruit over-ripe and the upbeat voice of brother talking to sister in the next field as they picked berries for the market. Add in the aroma of the berries as warmed by the sun, it was a pretty sweet experience all around. THE DRILL The drill here to pick is pretty informal. When they see your car pull in, one of the folks who work on the farm (we met both the owner and his son) will ask if you're there to pick, give you a box for the berries and point you in the direction of the plants with the most ripe fruit. The owner even gave my hubby a strawberry picking tutorial, how to recognize the perfectly ripe ones from those that seem ready but aren't quite yet. When you're done, they'll weigh your boxes and tell you what a ridiculously little amount of money is owed. WEEDING FOR BERRIES The owner told us for folks who want fresh berries but who feel they cannot afford to buy them, he is happy to trade their work to help weed the rows for berries in return. Nice barter system it seemed to us. Work for food. THANKS TO FARMERS My strawberry picking days are in the rear view mirror due to limits introduced by MS but I had a lot of experience in my youth and enjoyed supervising my hubby's first time efforts! He thought it was fun for an agricultural excursion day and enjoyed every minute of his couple of hours. But he also recognized it would be back breaking to pick berries for a living. We both took a moment to tell the Richardson Farm family members who were doing that work, this is truly a family operation in the fields as the owner has more than a dozen children,, how much we value being able to simply swing by the Co Op to buy their fine berries because of their work. It was a verbal hug of America's family farmers of whom we think good thoughts all the time. CO-OP AVAILABILITY If you're planning on buying via the Co Op the berries should be available there at times into October. The folks we met at the farm went out of their way to say how much they appreciated having the Co Op as their partner. THIS N THAT: 1) PRICE: If you want a true appreciation for what a fair price is on these flats of berries at the Co Op, venture out and pick for a couple of hours and consider the cost to the farmer to organically grow them, pick them, package them and transport them to market. Then consider the cost of the Co Op to put them up for sale. 2 lb. flats at Co Op are $7.95, so just under $4.00 / pound. If you compare to the most commonly available CA Grower (Driscoll) for organic berries pound for pound, these locals are a lower cost. If you pick your own at the farm, they cost a mere $1.50 / pound. Factor in the cost of travel to get to Emmett and the opportunity cost for your time, that Co Op price is a bargain too! 2) ACCESSIBILITY: Hard packed, gravel covered pathway. Neither porta-pot is accessible. 3) OTHER FRUITS AND VEGGIES: Sometimes available. Yesterday they included cherry tomatoes, Armenian cucumbers and Italian prune plums. 4) CONTACT INFO & GETTING THERE: If you plan to venture out, the farm is a little tough to find. The best way to zero in is via their website linked here. http://idahoberry.wordpress.com/ 5) THE OWNER: Worth saying he is an eccentric type of man. He has run for Governor at least once and his personal, legal name is Right to Life. You are not going to meet Old MacDonald if you visit the farm.

First time here for my wife and I, recent transplants from CA. While construction is going on, the…read moremarket relocated to City Hall, on E Civic Lane. We arrived about 10-15 minutes after they opened, which is at 9:00 am. Due to all the fires and the air quality index being 154, there were not as many vendors (I was told by a vendor that Meridian actually cancelled their Saturday market, due to the air quality issues). Still, there were enough to make it worthwhile, and we purchase salsa from two different vendors, some Huckleberry jam, some lavender, and my wife bought some earrings. I agree with other reviewers: the prices seem high for some items, for example, the jam I bought was $15 for one jar and the honey is $18 for a larger bear, $10 for a smaller one. The salsa was more reasonable, though I paid $9 for a 16 oz container. There seems to be ample parking and the vendors we interacted with were very nice and personable. I also would like to see more local produce stands, though the one I did see was, again, expensive. The produce stand on the south side of the 44 going west toward Linder is much more reasonable and they have a lot of selection. Still, we enjoyed ourselves and will definitely be back.

Live music, food & drink-- & vendors of all kinds- every Saturday in Heritage Park, downtown Eagle…read more Come check out all of the local vendors during their extended hours of 9AM-2PM (later than many other markets.) Lots of free parking options nearby, bike rack available within the park, & disability scooter friendly. Also note that they have yearly fall & winter markets too