The Lane County Farmers Market reopened for the 2025 season on Feb. 1 and will remain open until December.
The market closes during December and January due to colder weather and a decrease in crop availability. Now that winter is almost over, vendors and customers alike have returned to the market on East 8th Avenue to take advantage of locally-sourced goods.
Orion Lawrenz, the program and marketing manager for LCFM, has worked with the market for over three years. Lawrenz started as a cashier before eventually taking on their current role.
“There’s so much variety in what I do, and I feel like that’s a big part of it,” Lawrenz said. “I never know, going into one week, what’s going to be happening. And I love that.”
Lawrenz’s position largely focuses on community outreach, scheduling advertisements with local companies, social media management and program coordination. According to Lawrenz, LCFM will see new vendors and community engagement programs come in during 2025. New vendors will include a boba booth, an oyster vendor and local farmers looking to sell.
Bob Rudel, owner of Rainforest Mushrooms, has been selling his produce at LCFM for almost a decade now.
“We always hope for a good year, and there’s always ups and downs,” Ruhdel said. “It’s been pretty good the last few years, so it’s promising.”
Lawrenz added that since the end of the pandemic, farmer’s markets have become “more commonplace” especially in Eugene, as LCFM has over 70 vendors.
“I would love to see us continuing to make (the) farmers market as equitable as possible for people,” Lawrenz said. “If you’re making local food more accessible to people, then there’s more people shopping at the market, more people getting higher quality nutrition and then our vendors are having better sales. And then, by proxy, the word about the market is getting out.”
Jenny Jonak, the owner of Dragon Song Farm, has been selling at LCFM for almost two years now. Dragon Song Farm offers locally-grown flowers to Lane County.
“I love the professionalism of the market and also the other vendors,” Jonak said. “It’s a great group of people to be with.”
With a growing number of vendors, LCFM continues to provide a space for local businesses to connect with the Eugene community.
