Our Programs
An overview of the Institute’s community programs
Founded in 2002, the nonprofit Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute (the Institute) was created to support the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market’s efforts to make healthy, locally-grown food easily accessible to the northern New Mexico community. The Institute’s first mission was to provide an affordable year-round space for vendors to sell their goods. Railyard Markets take place on Saturday mornings year-round and Tuesday Mornings from May through November (8:00am-1:00pm). We also partner with the Farmers Market to bring fresh, healthy food to the Southside at the Del Sur Market on Tuesdays in July, August and September.
Market Pavilion
Located in the heart of Santa Fe, The Market Pavilion is a community hub. It can accommodate 600 guests and is regularly rented by community groups and other nonprofits for conferences and workshops, and family celebrations including weddings and quinceañeras. One of only a handful of event venues in Santa Fe of its size (9,300 square feet), the Pavilion hosts about 150 community and special events each year.
Double Up Food Bucks
To address food insecurity in the community, the Institute administers Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB), a program that doubles EBT/SNAP transactions to increase shoppers purchasing power and feed the local economy by supporting its farmers.
Community Engagement
In 2021, Presbyterian Medical Center Santa Fe began issuing vouchers to its employees for locally-grown products that are available at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market. Many of the vouchers redeemed were processed at the expanded Del Sur Market located in the Presbyterian Medical Center parking lot on the south side of Santa Fe.
The Institute partners with the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market to expand the programming at the Del Sur Market, serving the Southside of Santa Fe, where food insecurity is high and access to fresh, local food is limited. Family friendly activities are coordinated with youth organizations such as Cooking with Kids and YouthWorks, an organization that trains at risk teens for jobs in the hospitality and food industries, and others.
In cooperation with the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market, the Institute is responsive to needs in the community. Recent community engagement efforts included a wildfire relief effort providing needed items for evacuated families and farms in northern New Mexico, and a blood drive to address a critically-low supply of blood nationwide.
