KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Visitors to New Harvest Park now have a chance to grab delicious food from more than 15 East Tennessee vendors on Thursdays, after the New Harvest Farmers Market officially started on April 25.
The market features a variety of locally-grown produce, meats, eggs, garden starts, prepared food and artisan crafts. It runs every Thursday from 3 p.m. through 6 p.m., from May to September. It's the result of a partnership between Knox County and Nourish Knoxville, a local nonprofit that works to keep communities healthy and support relationships between local farmers, producers and the public.
Opening day festivities on April 25 included a park-wide scavenger hunt as part of Nourish Moves, a program that encourages people to walk more throughout their days. As part of the program, people could get pedometers from the nonprofit to count their steps while exploring the market and the park.
Participants also get $3 worth of "Produce Bucks" that can be spent at the farmers market, and people can get bonus prizes when they're extra active — such as when they log 20,000 steps.
People can also use SNAP and P-EBT benefits at the farmers market, and effectively double the value of those funds. People can use their benefits to get tokens, and every $10 spent comes with an additional $10 worth of tokens. People can get up to an additional $20 worth of tokens per day this way.