Locally-Grown Connections to Locally-Grown Produce in Clinton County

Farmers markets are beloved community amenities that provide opportunities to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables, spend time with friends and family, and make new acquaintances. In Clinton County, OH, the Clinton County Farmers Market is all that and much more!

Beginning on May 11 and extending for 24 weeks through October 19, the Clinton County Farmers Market hosts numerous local vendors every Saturday morning from 8:30 am to 12 noon on the Clinton County Courthouse square. Beyond locally grown or crafted wares, the market builds a sense of community, strengthens area entrepreneurism, and is an educational tool to strengthen healthy habits. 

“With 2024 as the market’s 25th anniversary, we celebrate how it is truly a representation of the economic impact agriculture has in Clinton County,” said Elise Snarr, Clinton County Farmers Market Manager. “We are also proud of our goals to grow and adapt to meet the community’s needs.”

Snarr, who took the manager position in 2024, grew up in Clinton County and is a senior at Wilmington College, majoring in Resource Conservation and Regenerative Agriculture. She may not have grown up on a farm, yet she is passionate about community work and the role farmers’ markets and agriculture can have on people, businesses and local economies. 

“I have some experience helping with one vendor stand in the past, but a person does not come to understand the intricacies of running a market until actually experiencing it,” she said. “Everything that goes on behind the scenes, from programming, accessing and utilizing grant funding, is truly amazing.”

Outreach programs

Grant funding makes several unique programs possible at the Clinton County Farmers Market. 

“The programming has an underlying theme of connecting farmers with the community, but they are also about helping everyone with healthy options and locally grown products,” said Snarr. “Our vendors embrace them, and it's a very welcoming environment for all.”

Three programs are offered through support from HealthFirst for Clinton County:

• A “Double Your Bucks'' promotion allows Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to receive up to $10 in market tokens to be used at the Market when purchased with their SNAP/EBT cards. 
• Clinton County youth ages 4-12 can sign up for a Kids’ Club card to receive $3 in tokens to spend on fresh fruits or veggies at every market they attend. 
• “Senior Day” occurs twice a month for various senior living communities in Wilmington and Blanchester to receive free transportation to the market and a $15 voucher in tokens to buy healthy vegetables, meats, or honey.

Other unique programming includes:

• Multiple market dates are classified as “WIC Markets.” Attended by Clinton County Health District staff, participants in its Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers' Market Nutrition Program receive $30 in vouchers to spend on healthy, locally-grown fruits, and vegetables.
• The COA Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, a partnership between the Market and the Council on Aging (COA) of Southwestern Ohio, allows eligible seniors to receive and use $50 in tokens to purchase fresh vegetables, fruits, honey, and fresh-cut herbs. 
• Special events like Healthy Families Day and Community Resource Day include participation by Clinton Memorial Hospital to do screenings and other assessments or the Clinton County Workforce Collaborative to educate about its campaign around child care availability. 

Entrepreneurial flavor

Farmers markets are a perfect model for entrepreneurial success and community support. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service indicates that American farmers receive only 14.3 cents of every food dollar that consumers spend. In comparison, they take upwards of 90 cents on the dollar from farmers’ markets. Growers selling at local outlets create thirteen full-time farm operator jobs per $1 million in revenue earned, compared to only three for those not selling locally.

The Clinton County Farmers Market is an excellent arena for small businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive. The Clinton County Port Authority can connect Market participants with the Small Business Development Center at Miami University Regionals and area representative Jim Buckner to optimize its services and resources. Examples of collaborative success include the newly opened Wilmington restaurant Trail Haus’ use of produce from the Market whenever possible. Another is the Lumberton General Store, which, beyond using local items, has a small farm market component in the restaurant itself.

Walnut Ridge Acres, one of the Market’s pork vendors, has determined how to become self-sufficient, growing the corn and soybeans fed to the hogs.

Fred Paul, a Snap-Ed OSU Extension Educator Senior Coordinator, is known for his monthly cooking demonstrations as part of the health assessments, in which he uses local vendor products. 

The Market itself has embraced small business opportunities, increasing its marketing efforts with the help of area grant funding.

“We have been fortunate to receive more grant funding than typical this year, applying it to items like logos for our canopies, but also expanding out to radio advertising with Real Roots Radio,” said Snarr. “Those efforts and community connections make the Clinton County Farmers Market such a unique place.”

Celebrate farmers!

Part of Snarr’s role is to visit vendor sites to ensure products are locally grown or crafted. However, the verification process is secondary to the cultivation of local relationships.

“It is extremely encouraging for the Market's customers to know 90% of the products are made or grown by our vendors,” she said. “But learning the incredible stories of our vendors is very special and heartening to know farming and agriculture are strong in Clinton County.”

August 4 - 10 is National Farmers Market Week and a good reminder of the importance farmers, growers and creators have on the vitality of the Clinton County community. In 2022, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service indicated more than 8,700 U.S. farmers’ markets, with total annual sales estimated at $1 billion. You can learn more about the national effort from the Farmers Market Coalition.

Clinton County and the Clinton County Port Authority are here to help your local business grow to meet the needs of residents. Please contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you!