The opening of Urbana’s Market at the Square this Saturday means fresh produce, local meats, unique cheeses and plenty of other activities, including educational programs for children, provided by the Champaign-Urbana community.

The Market will be open from 7 a.m. to noon at the corner of Vine and Illinois streets in Urbana, rain or shine, according to the website. Market director Natalie Kenny Marquez said the market usually has an average of 60 vendors each weekend, with 150 registered vendors overall during the market season from May 4 to Nov. 2.

Citizens who attend the market can navigate the 60 vendors through the Market’s new website. Online, people can find where vendors are located and what they sell. A search function allows users to find favorite items and different vendors who sell them. 

Beginning Saturday, children can participate in programs involving local food, nutrition and how to make meals at the Market’s Sprouts program. These programs are held every Saturday from May to October.

Marquez said one of these programs, hosted by the Family Resilience Center at the University, is called “Farm to Table – As Fresh as it Gets!” which focuses on “the people and steps involved in getting food to the table,” according to their website.

The Market staff is also working with students from Urbana Middle School who signed up to take a class that teaches them about local food, Marquez said. The students talk about their favorite parts of the Market, and the Market is developing advertisements featuring the students’ comments. One student has already recorded a rap song about his favorite part of the market, local meat.

The market does not only offer educational experiences for children, but it also means an experience in food and culture for Champaign-Urbana residents, said Julia Reynolds, graduate student in Library and Information Science.

Noam Segal, doctoral student in psychology, is a frequent attendee of the Market. He lives close by Urbana, and enjoys walking to the Market in the spring weather with his wife. 

“I know farmers’ markets can be slightly more expensive, but we really love the vegetables,” Segal said. “Maybe it’s something about the experience, too, that makes them seem better than they are.” 

Segal said he is a “big cheese-lover” and the farmer’s market has a fantastic selection of cheeses for him to choose from.

Some of the variety at the Market may be found in larger stores like Schnuck’s or Meijer, but neither the experience nor the quality is the same, Segal said. 

“You don’t have people standing there smiling at you (at the bigger stores),” Segal said. “There’s something about the experience that makes it more fun.”

Marquez said the Market experience extends into the neighboring Common Ground Food Co-op, and that she doesn’t see them as competition.

“We work very closely together and share a lot of the same customers,” Marquez said. “A lot of the farmer’s market vendors also sell at the co-op. We complement each other nicely and I think we have done so well because of our friendship and partnership. It makes this part of Urbana a destination.”

Janelle can be reached at jnodea2@dailyillini.com.