Written by Abigale Johnson

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I’ve spent most of my adult life traveling, visiting and living in different places around the country and internationally. I love the experience of getting to know different communities, learning their traditions, participating in day-to-day life—learning about what makes us all a little different, and more importantly what brings us all together. In almost every place I’ve spent time, I make it a point to visit the local farmers market, which means I’ve seen a lot of farmers markets! I do this in part to taste the freshest local food, but the thing I love most is getting a sense of whatever community I’m visiting. Local markets (farmers and other kinds) offer a place for the community to come together, share their goods, enjoy random conversations, pet a dog, observe a happy couple, and otherwise participate in a little bit of local humanity.

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So, naturally, one of the first places I visited when I moved to Roanoke in the winter of 2022 was the Saturday market in Grandin Village. I stopped by the LEAP booth at the entrance and introduced myself to LEAP’s Food Access Manager, Connie, telling her I was new to town. In true Connie fashion (if you know Connie, you know what I’m talking about), she made me feel welcome and introduced me to a few other people at the market. Before I knew it, a week into living in Roanoke, I could feel the sense of community here and knew I was somewhere special. 

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The Grandin Village Farmers Market became one of the places that I visited as often as I could to get a little dose of community and feel at home. Filled with super local, small farmers and businesses, stopping at a booth meant I got to have a real face-to-face conversation with the farmer who was actually growing my food (shout out to Tara at Rabbit Head Farm who became familiarly known in my house as “the chicken lady” :-)). 

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Our farmers markets are special places for the vendors too. It’s not only a place for their business to thrive, it’s a place to connect, educate, make friends and family, and cheer each other on as they navigate a world that typically encourages them to compete against each other. Farmer Suzanna Thornton of Thornfield Farm shares, “LEAP provides a critical nexus for us to be able to collaborate with other farmers and get more food out into the community in a way that we would never be able to do on our own. We became farmers to bring local food into our community and we quickly learned that we could never do it alone. LEAP brings us together with other local farmers so that we can all better serve a much bigger community. We are better together!” Each night as I eat dinner, I think about the farmers that brought it to my table, the actual people I’ve talked to and toward whom I can send a thought of gratitude. 

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A few years later, I’m now working for LEAP and tasked with writing about the impact that our farmers markets have on the communities we serve. I see so much more of what LEAP does and all the ways our work touches the lives of folks all over Roanoke. There are so many people like me who stop at the Grandin Village market and the West End market each week to stay connected to other people in the community and to have a chat with their farmer-friends. I talk with farmers about how their day at the market is going, usually toward the later end of the market when they’ve successfully sold out of much of this week’s haul. 

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At the West End market, I see moms with their kids, eyes filled with wonder, arms with this week’s veggies they get to buy with their own Kids Bucks ($5 free every Tuesday). For one customer, the Kids Bucks program has enabled her “to teach [her] daughter about budgeting, saving, and smart food choices.” According to her, “LEAP provides so much more than just access to farmers markets. They offer affordable, consistent, and welcoming spaces that create real impact. [LEAP] markets engage the community with programming like story time for children, fostering early learning and family involvement. More importantly, their innovative match programs make healthy food *truly accessible*. The **match for SNAP/EBT and WIC** recipients—and monthly **double match days**—are a lifeline for many families. These programs allow families like mine to stretch our budgets while supporting local farmers and producers.” Thanks to federal and state grant funding and community support in 2024, we were able to distribute $226,000 food dollars through our various market bucks to support these folks, an average of 145 $30 purchases per week! 

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On my first visit to a Mobile Market stop, I chat with a few seniors in low-income housing that share with us how grateful they are for the spread of food this week. What we’ve brought means one customer doesn’t have to make the tough trip by bus to get groceries this week. Another shares about how LEAP’s senior vouchers are helping them stretch their limited fixed-income food budget. Stories are swapped about the “best tomatoes” that they remember their grandparents growing in their garden. To many of the seniors we serve, “local food” isn’t a niche trend, it is just good, fresh, homegrown food. It’s what they grew up with, what they value and want, and the Mobile Market brings it to their doorstep. At another stop, we’ve worked with farmers to supply members of a refugee community with culturally-specific greens and herbs, as well as translated signage. Mobile Market stops become little communities within the larger community where people feel seen and heard.

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In the last couple of years, I’ve seen the markets blossom, while still maintaining that small, local, approachable feeling. I learned that in 2024, the markets had 13% more vendors than the previous year, and in 2025 I feel that growth continuing. With more vendors, more people are drawn to the magic of the market, and the sense that our community is growing. At the Grandin market, people pause to enjoy their local donut and coffee and catch up with friends before they go home with their bag-full of various veggies, meats, baked goods, and other delights. Since the West End market moved to its new location, next to the LEAP Hub, it’s had room to expand and attract folks driving by on their way home from work. 

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I’m grateful to LEAP for offering such a valuable service to communities around Roanoke. Since its beginnings with the Grandin Village Farmers Market in 2009, our now two farmers markets and mobile market now bring fresh, local food to 11 communities across Roanoke. This approach not only makes local food more accessible to people in a variety of communities, it allows us to better meet the needs of community members, gives farmers more opportunities to sell their food, and brings local communities together. Whether you come to the markets to eat amazing local food, want to spend your dollars locally, or just come for some positive community vibes, we love the community that you’re helping us to build! If you’re new to the scene, come visit the LEAP booth and say hello, we’ll help you get connected. Local spaces like these are what brings us all together and builds the strong community connections we often long for.

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Thanks for being a part of it with us, see you at the market!

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