The Winter Farmers Market is back and will be held every Saturday from Jan. 22 to Feb. 26 in the Union Station.

The market was first held in 2018, but took a break due to COVID-19 restrictions. “The gap made people very anxious to get out and get back into the community,” Zachery Johnstun, the community coordinator, said.

Now, two years later, people are ready to enjoy the Winter Farmers Market again and support their local community.

Event organizers utilized the two-year gap to fine-tune and make improvements to the event.

Hallie Van Patten, the marketing and public relations manager for Ogden Downtown Alliance, explained they looked for the weaknesses in the event and found more ways to make it enjoyable by improving aspects of the set-up and advertisement.

This farmers market is now an authorized Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Electronic Benefits Transfer provider.

“For anyone who has a Horizon card or is eligible for that program, you can use that card at the market and then come to the info booth, and we’ll exchange that money for tokens, and you can spend that money like cash at the market,” Van Patten said.

This farmers market will have 40 local growers/producers, artisans, vendors and artists. Since it’s a winter market, the variety of produce is limited compared to the fall and summer markets; however, this market provides other local goods to make up for it.

“We like to get a good balance. We try to make sure a significant percentage are food vendors; however, it is a time for artisan vendors to shine,” Johnstun said.

One of those artisan vendors is Coffee Links, who will sell coffee and create latte art.

Leon Araujo, owner of Coffee Links, explained that he loves seeing people come by their booth to enjoy the coffee and the art.

Along with the market’s vendors, the Winter Famers Market is trying something new this year by starting a food truck rotation. Johnstun said there will be two food trucks a day, a new set each market.

Johnstun explained that the Winter Farmers Market and events like it are a great start for local artists, especially if they are performing for the first time at the event. The support of the community can help artists get to bigger stages and help their career move forward.

The farmers market provides a time to support and showcase the parts of Ogden that aren’t necessarily seen at all times. Markets such as this one help people see how diverse the Ogden area is. It not only brings the community together; it also adds back to the community’s economy.

“Supporting local is always important. It’s another way to show you support your community. It’s another way to see your community that you might not see day to day,” Van Patten said.