Market Central

Market Central connects the community to local farms, food, and entrepreneurs through programs, research, education, and administration at farmers markets.

Donate here to support Market Central: https://market-central.snwbll.com/giving-portal Like us on Facebook to receive updates and behind-the-scene looks at the markets at IX, along with engaging and relevant information on food & farms. Join our newsletter to receive a bi-monthly email about all things Market Central!

07/31/2026

Market at Ix, Aug 1
Another full market is coming up, with an occasional last minute cancellation. The first market of the month means Deep Roots Milling is coming in with freshly milled grain and flour. Hopefully the mill stream has been replenished with enough rain to operate the water mill.

Piedmont Master Gardeners will be setting up to receive your gardening questions. Don’t forget to visit “the Table”! (more on that for farmers market week)

August 2 through 8 brings us National Farmers Market Week. Celebrate local markets on August 2 at Starr Hill Market, and at Farmers Market at Ix on August 8. The itinerary of activities is contained in the flyer below.

Farmers Market Benefits to Communities:
protect the environment by preventing the development of rural land
help communities access health food
create jobs and boost the local economy
promote community-building through food and culture

Thank you for supporting local farmers markets. We invite you to participate in preparing our markets for future sustainability and resiliency.

07/26/2026

Starr Hill Market
Hours: 9:30-1:30 Location: Jefferson School City Center 233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, Va 22903

If you haven’t been, the Starr Hill Market just might be turning the corner to become a vital market. It’s an offshoot of the Farmers Market at Ix. We can’t all fit in one market on one day and serve the needs of the community. We need markets on other days and times, so voila, we have a growing market in the historic Starr Hill neighborhood. It’s more laid back than the Saturday markets, with later hours, and in the shade. Amenities include parking, restrooms, seating, and a play space for children and activities.

The vendors and products are unique and expanding. This week, Aspire Farm returns, and Wanders Hill Farm joins us for the first time. They sell honey, eggs, meats, and vegetables- just what we need to balance out the prepared foods. We now have bread from Eden’s Table (with new products coming), mousse from Just Desserts, baked goods and sensory play kits from Blue Ridge Play and Pantry, prepared cultural dishes from Rum Punch Jamaican Cuisine and Afrika Moto Cuisine, smoothies and juice from Blissful Blends, skin care products form Golden Goods, and crafty night lights and sewing from MonHarmony.

Build community at your neighborhood market, (did you know there’s a book store on Commerce St.?) and be ready for more vendors, demos, and even yoga on the lawn for National Farmers Market Week coming up on Aug.2.

See you at the market!

07/24/2026

Hello Market Fans,
Absolutely every space is taken this week at FM@Ix to take advantage of the improvements in the weather. Enjoy the day, stock up on farm produce, stay for a bite, a cup of coffee, tea, smoothies, kefir, lemonade water etc! Many more details about vendors and products are on the Market Central website/market news.

If you can't get enough of markets, and find Sundays and a smaller market just right, the Starr Hill Market welcomes Wanders Hill Farm to join our farms and food producers under the Oaks at Jefferson School City Center, 9:30-1:30. We are growing.

We're busy planning for National Farmers Market Week Aug 2-8 at both markets. Get ready to celebrate markets and the part you play. Stay tuned for information and schedules.
Thanks, community! See you at the market!

07/19/2026

Who knew we would be dodging heat domes and smoke pollution this year. This Sunday the air should be clearer, and the heat down a notch. If you missed the Market at Ix, or just prefer Sunday markets, Starr Hill will be open. You can get in and out before predicted and much needed rain, and before the World Cup final match starts. The line-up of fine food producers includes Rum Punch Kamaican Cuisine, Afrika Moto Cuisine, Eden’s Table for baked goods, Bomonti for crepes and breakfast items, Blue Ridge Play and Pantry, also for baked goods and sensory kits, and Shelby Kirkland for cake pops. Blissful Blends brings their much acclaimed smoothies and juices, no sugar added unless requested. We will also be presenting tomatoes from Second Mountain Farm.

Enjoy better weather, good food, and refreshments under the oaks.

See you at the market!

07/12/2026

Hours: 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Location: Jefferson School City Center, 233 4th St. NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

Let’s see what the intrepid vendors at the Starr Hill Market have this week. Blissful Blends are expanding their smoothie menu to include simple cakes, and tea, and Eden’s Table is also widening their bakery selections. Aspire farm is hanging in there in spite of the local severe drought and heat. It’s been a tough year so far. For fortification when you need quick energy try the RVP bars. Read in the Market Central newsletter about how these bars powered the producer to run a marathon between two volcanoes in Bali! Scroll down to the RVP Bar article by Tim Rupnarain. Rum Punch will be there for your Sunday Jamaican brunch/lunch treat. Crepes from Bomonti are available for a traditional brunch choice, or try a more elaborate plate from Afrika Moto Cuisine for Congolese flavors. Try the skin care products from Golden Goods. Now that the rain has returned, so have the mosquitos. Try their insect repellent skin balm or the oils and butters to recover from sun exposure. Enjoy the ambiance under the trees and join in on a lawn game (most likely Molkky, a Finnish lawn game) that regularly takes place at the Starr Hill Market. I’ll be sipping tea from Philosopher’s Tea and enjoying the morning.

See you there!

07/03/2026

Farmers Market at Ix, July 4, 2026 Happy 250th Fourth of July!
Jul 3
Market Hours 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Early closing due to heat advisory. Market location: Ix Art Park 522 2nd St. SE Cville

Hello all,

The market is closing at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow due to the heat advisory. Please come a little early to shop for the holiday celebration, and stock up for the week.

The prolonged heat and drought are affecting our markets. Deep Roots milling cannot attend because the stream that powers their stone ground mill is running dry. This affects not only customer’s grain source, but also our local bakeries. The local grain growers’ crops are also affected. Wayfinders Holistics cannot attend in order to tend to calves struggling to survive in the heat and drought.

The weather extremes are taking their toll, and we hate to see our green city’s trees struggling to survive. When we ask our market community to compost, use less plastic, and recycle what they use, we are doing our part to decrease the carbon footprint. Just shopping for local food is helping to mitigate climate change. With your ideas, knowledge and expertise, please help the Market Central community find a permanent home where we may make environmental and structural improvements towards a sustainable market. We need shade, solar energy and other solutions.We are focusning on forming a Community Land Trust to acheive this goal. Let us know if you have ideas or want to help work together.

In solidarity with the World Cup, we are having fun featuring the vendors who have roots in the participating countries. Learn about their food and culture at FM@Ix and Starr Hill Market. This week we introduce Afrika Moto Cuisine from the DR Congo, menu attached. Starr Hill is also attracting more food vendors and styles. Aspire Farm will be attending Saturday July 5.

See you at the Markets!

Check the Marketspread map for the July 4 Vendor list.

July 4 vendor map

06/27/2026

Hello Community,

You know about Market Central's Farmers Market at Ix. Let us tell you about the Starr Hill Market. It was founded in 2025 by Market Central with a grant from the State of VA, to increase food access, support local food growers and producers, and help create small food -oriented businesses, particularly within the historically marginalized community who have been left out of the economy. Market Central’s outreach fellow, Saturn Edwards, took the lead to connect with the Jefferson School Foundation to forge an agreement for a trial market. We opened the 2026 season in May, and will open markets every Sunday from 9:30-1:30 through November, and we’re delighted to invite the community to attend.

More food producers are attending, and the choices are increasing, to keep the public curious and interested. We have had the honor of hosting Rum Punch Jamaican Cuisine from the start, and now are hosting Afrika Moto Cuisine for a taste of Afrika. Bakers rotate through the market, fruit juice and smoothie markers, tea brewers, and now a vendor promises to bring coffee. A crepe maker is attending this week, a vegetarian taco vendor has applied for the future, and the craft and home goods producers are filtering in. We have 2 farms now, who are rotating in, and with enough public support, hope to attract a few more.

The space is very comfortable with easy parking, public restrooms, shade, a play space (lawn games are frequently on-going), and seating. Come on out on a Sunday morning, relax, let the vendors make your breakfast or lunch, and shop for a few items for your week’s meals, or for a few unexpected items. Starr Hill is the up and coming neighborhood pop-up market.

Every week you can check the Marketspread map to find out which vendors are attending that week.

We’ll see you at the market!

03/13/2026

We're all here at the Farmers Market at Ix, Saturday March 14! Local farms, food and arts. We take SNAP and match with Virginia Fresh Match

03/06/2026

80 vendors bringing all the goodness of local food and arts for the first market in March! See you there!

Address

522 2nd Street, Se
Charlottesville, VA
22902

Opening Hours

8am - 12pm

Website

http://www.marketcentral.org/

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