First New Kensington farmer’s market aims for healthy food, local business support

To Michelle Thom, goals for an upcoming farmers market in downtown New Kensington are twofold.

The Downtown New Ken Partnership president wants to provide healthy, fresh food in the area and increase foot traffic for small businesses there.

The farmers market — which Thom believes is the first of its kind in New Kensington — kicks off from 9 a.m. to noon April 19. and will run every Saturday until Oct. 19 outside Voodoo Brewing Co. along Fifth Avenue and 10th Street

“We are trying to do it because we are in a ‘food desert,’ and we’ve been trying to find a solution to that for years,” Thom said.

Thom anticipates about a dozen vendors each Saturday. Vendors will vary from week to week, but they will sell items ranging from meat, poultry, fish and wellness products to fruits, vegetables, eggs and more.

Market vendors will accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and EBT, Thom said.

There has not been a grocery store in downtown New Kensington since Shop ’n Save closed in 2020.

In turn, people in that area without transportation or other means are stuck with limited food options, such as frozen meals or processed foods from Dollar General, which aren’t as healthy as produce from the farmers market, Thom said.

“This was the next step we could do to help solve that problem,” she said.

The closest grocers are Golden Dawn on Freeport Road and Giant Eagle and Aldi on Tarentum Bridge Road. But those are largely out of reach to downtown residents without transportation.

So the downtown partnership helps sponsor a Fresh Food Shuttle service, available to adults in New Kensington, Arnold and Lower Burrell, for door-to-door service available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The shuttle takes shoppers to Walmart, Aldi, Giant Eagle, Golden Dawn and local food banks. People can schedule by calling 724-895-8270.

New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo said the community market will serve many purposes.

“It will be a great opportunity for our folks who live near our downtown area to have access to fresh, healthy and seasonal produce,” Guzzo said. “It is great for the entire city and surrounding areas to come down and support our local farmers and economy.

“It will be yet another opportunity for people to come downtown and do some shopping and go to our restaurants and support our downtown businesses and continue to create a great sense of community.”

The partnership is still accepting interested produce vendors. They can contact Thom at downtownnkmarkets@gmail.com.