Treasure Valley’s craft markets and artisan fairs offer a vibrant mix of handmade goods, local art, and gourmet treats—but not all markets are created equal. While many celebrate the full spectrum of creative expression, the Boise Farmers Market stands apart in its dedication to food—real food—and the people who grow, raise, and prepare it. From Somali-American farmers planting new roots to local ranchers and regenerative growers, this is a place where what’s on your plate comes with a backstory. Here, food tells a story—and the community shows up to listen.
Each Saturday from April through October, a steady hum fills the parking lot at 1500 Shoreline Drive. Shoppers wander between rows of tents, reusable bags slung over shoulders, while vendors hand out samples of goat cheese, heirloom tomatoes, and fermented garlic honey. This is the Boise Farmers Market—a space that has become not just a shopping experience but a rhythm of the city’s weekends.
Set just off the Boise River, near Shoreline Park and the Greenbelt, the market’s location offers more than fresh produce—it opens onto the city’s natural flow. After picking up a bouquet of basil or a pint of cherries, many visitors stroll or cycle along the riverside path, pausing at shaded benches or heading toward coffee shops and breweries along the way. The market isn’t just a destination—it’s part of a Saturday rhythm that threads through Boise’s downtown and riverfront life.
Since its founding in 2013, the Boise Farmers Market has grown to include an average of more than 80 vendors each season, most from southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon. But what draws people back each week goes beyond the produce bins and fresh eggs. It’s the stories: who grew the food, how it was raised, and why it matters.
A New Way to Tell a Market Story
A ten-part video series titled More Than a Market: Why Farmers Markets Matter launched this spring, funded through a USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program grant. Each episode captures a different facet of market life—from the quiet innovation of solar-powered strawberry farming to the reasons longtime customers make the market part of their weekly lives. One episode follows Jo Anne and Byron Smith of Smith Berry Farm, whose strawberry harvests are as brief as they are beloved. But the deeper story is about their sustainability efforts—powering their farm with solar energy and committing to soil-conscious practices.
Another episode, In Love with Local, focuses on the community itself—those who return each week not just for food, but for a sense of belonging.
A fourth video, set to release in July, will spotlight one of the market’s most celebrated seasonal traditions: the Harvest Moon Dinner, a fall farm-to-table event held each September that brings together local chefs, farmers, and community members for a shared meal under Idaho’s crisp autumn sky. The video offers a glimpse into what happens when seasonal abundance, community storytelling, and food culture come together in a single evening.
For a more hands-on way to explore the market, consider joining the monthly Shop with a Chef tour. Led by market chef Adan Callsen, each outing focuses on a seasonal theme—like “Brunch Basics”—and takes participants on a guided walk through the stalls to meet vendors, discover fresh ingredients, and watch a cooking demonstration. The tour includes a custom recipe card and market tote, but its real takeaway is the deeper connection to what’s in season and who grew it.
None of these efforts aim for gloss. They land somewhere more grounded—intimate, observational, human. The kind of storytelling that mirrors the market itself.
Attendance is up 6% this year, with a 26% rise in Drive-Thru orders. But beyond the stats is something more tactile: the voices of vendors greeting familiar faces, the sound of live music drifting between food trucks, and the feeling that this space, and the people in it, matter.
The Boise Farmers Market doesn’t try to be everything. It doesn’t need to. What it does offer—transparency, seasonality, and a sense of rootedness—feels increasingly rare. And thanks to this year’s video series, more people are discovering not just the market, but the people who make it pulse.
At the Boise Farmers Market, you won’t just find food—you’ll find the people behind it.
To explore the More Than a Market video series, visit youtube.com/@BoiseFarmersMarket or learn more at theboisefarmersmarket.com.