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.

The produce is straight from local farms. So delicious. The blueberries are plump, sweet and…read moredelicious! The bread and coffee are local, too; and amazing.

Great place for local produce,meats, honey and a variety of just about anything. Homemade pies,…read morehand crafted items, great family feel.

I think this place is amazing... They have such a great variety of fruits and vegetables and the…read morebest part is the price for the quality. I've kept my eye out all summer and this market has the best prices per pound for strawberries, pineapple, peppers, etc. Staff is super friendly and helpful.( There is also a butcher, a bread shop, and a pasta shop in the same strip as this market. All of these shops support local businesses.)

Newly re-opened this week (on 6/8/26) and now with Symms Fruit Farm, a 100+ year old grower of…read morecherries, several kinds of stonefruit, pears and sometimes quince that is still family operated, as owner operators of this partly Farmers Market partly grocery market store in an old barn like building in Boise. Looking at this Yelp page I was surprised to see reviews, some not flattering, dating back to the 2010 - 2012 era for the same business name at this location but that one closed, years ago it seems, and this is now new ownership and focus but the same business name. Recalibrating. As it were. My first visit in had me eager to go back again as new place wobbles get worked out and the growing season allows them to bring in more local produce. They have what is available in that now and for the other produce they stock it is all organic so works for me! WE'RE GLAD YOU'RE HERE SERVICE: I'll mention product below, but what stood out for my husband and me on this visit was what nice people work here, how helpful everyone is and how much one feels a good spirit of welcome and care in the space. Delightful. PRODUCTS: Produce, flours and grains from local mill, local honeys (the one we chose from Panoptic Apiary in Middleton is excellent), local poultry and beef in a freezer case, dairy (including raw milk if that's your thing) in a dedicated refrigerator case and another with things like a variety of really good salsas, house made guacamole, jarred sauerkraut and...the list goes on. They had Symms cherries, the first of the season's crop, in the store and they are excellent. I picked up some other produce to round out what I needed at home, most of it not local farm grown at this point in the year but all of it fresh and organic. I'm hopeful they'll be able to expand to bring in some farmers, like those who are at the Boise Farmer's Market, to round out their local produce offerings. Gaston's Bakery bread was on a rack and I learned the baker delivers to them daily. They were giving away flowers from a local grower and said they would have more coming in to sell in the store. The flower farm name was Sunny Stems (Caldwell ID) and on the card that came with the flowers, I loved that the owner, Ineke Severa, identifed herself as "grower & dreamer". HEALTHY AND SWEET TREAT SURPRISE!: There is a 'Smoothie' sign above the check out counter and given I have never learned to appreciate those, I didn't study it but then just as I was leaving I saw the sign alongside for a frozen banana whip sweetened with dates. I am a sucker for dates so I ordered one with optional fresh strawberry topping. It was dee-licious and even in the smallest size (only $4 for 9 oz), it was shareable by two. I would go back just for one of these again. PARKING: Ample amount in private lot. ACCESSIBILITY: There is an spot marked with wheelchair emblem paint in the lot near the door but it is not compliant with state building code or ADA because the striped access aisle is on the wrong side of the vehicle. I pause here for a little venting, I don't know who owns the lot but for Pete's sake, there have been crystal clear guidelines in both the ADA law and code for what will be 36 years next month and how this is gotten wrong is beyond understanding. It makes a big difference to people who use wheelchairs and it is embedded in law and code for a reason. That the city of Boise allows these things to go uncorrected is maddening because it is their job to enforce the Access Building Code, including in parking lots. End of vent. Other than that the inside is fully accessible for floor space and check out counter height. LOO: There is one so you can plan accordingly if you want to order a pot of their French Press coffee that was listed on a board. IN THEIR OWN WORDS AS PS: Owners spend time to write marketing material and mission statements and I think it is important to share them. Here are these owners comments as shared on their site titled: ROOTED IN IDAHO. BUILT FOR YOUR TABLE. "town and Country Market was born from a simple belief: the best ingredients don't come from a warehouse across the country. They come from the farm down the road. We've built relationships with Idaho's finest growers, ranchers, and artisans so that you don't have to wonder where your food comes from. When you shop with us, you're buying from the people who planted it, picked it, and made it with their own hands. That's not a marketing claim. That's just how we do things. From the rolling orchards of the Snake River Plain to the cottage kitchens of the Treasure Valley, every item in our store carries a little piece of Idaho in it. Come on in and taste the difference."

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

Went to the farmers market on Saturday. It was great. They had 200 vendors so there was a huge…read morevariety of goods and crafts. Would definitely recommend it!

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.