Local restaurateur, Cooperative Extension head look to expand farmers' market

The Kinston-Lenoir County Farmer's Market is currently known as a place where residents can get all sorts of fresh produce in the summertime, from strawberries to cantaloupes to collards to potatoes.

To Ben Knight and Tammy Kelly, though, it has the potential to become a major source of local foods and products, drawing visitors from around the region to downtown Kinston.

"People view the farmer's market as a place to buy locally produced food," Knight said. "What (other) farmers' markets across North Carolina have done is expand that concept."

Knight, co-owner of the Chef & The Farmer Restaurant, and Kelly, director of the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension, want to bring in more local producers - including those who sell to Chef & The Farmer - to complement the handful of growers who currently sell there.

They also want to encourage local craft makers to sell their wares at the market.

Kelly and Knight know of a number of meat producers and produce growers in Lenoir County and the surrounding communities who could sell at the Herritage Street market, but are not convinced that enough people in Kinston are willing to buy their products.

"We're selling their goods here at the restaurant, and people are driving here (from outside Kinston), so there is a market," Knight said.

He and Kelly cited the Carrboro farmer's market, which is set up in a local parking lot, as an example of what they want in Kinston. The local facilities are much more built-up than Carrboro's though, giving Kinston an advantage.

"We're very fortunate that we have a ready-made facility with bathrooms," Kelly said.

The Kinston-Lenoir County Farmer's Market, located near Neuseway Park, includes restrooms, a shelter and parking areas.

The facility is maintained by the county and the city owns the land. The Farmer's Market Association, made up of the vendors, oversees the sale of produce and the Cooperative Extension advises the association, Kelly explained.

"It's a community place ... it needs to be utilized, it's tax dollars," she said.

David Anderson can be reached at (252) 559-1077 or danderson@freedomenc.com.

The Kinston-Lenoir County Farmer's Market is at the intersection of King and South Herritage streets in downtown Kinston. It is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, contact Tammy Kelly or Walter Adams at the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension at (252) 527-2191. Visit the Chef & The Farmer online at www.chefandthefarmer.com.