OK, I will say I just moved here. Just moved from a city with a great Farmers Market, amazing I…read moremight say so I am a little bias...but this is not really a bias things, more a question. I have spent the last 25+ years going to the Minneapolis Farmers Market every weekend from April to Sept/Oct. Even on weeks that I wasn't going to be home I would come down for the people, the sounds, the smells, the fresh produce. I have this thing in my mind about Farmers Markets and supporting local businesses, local growers and buying good clean healthy products from people who do this year after year! Watching young and old, rich and poor come down to buy locally grown, seasonal products! As a trained Chef, lover of food, lover of people and crowds everything about a farmers market hits for me! I have been to a lot of famers markets in a lot of Cities and States as well, all along those lines for the most part... Now the Boise Farmers Market is very nice, lots of great vendors, good food trucks, Awesome Bagels (shout out to @Good Time Bagels) but the pricing for produce is quite honestly bizarre ! I have been here only 3 months but I find Boise overall to have a much lower cost of living to what I am used to. Restaurants, stores, coffee, alcohol...the little things I enjoy in life are much less expensive...except veggies at the Farmers Market! I would routinely pick up fresh lettuce of various types at the market for $1-2 dollars a head...Boise $7-10??? $7 dollars for a bag of lettuce, are you kidding me, $10..WTF??? $3 for a very, very small bunch of carrots...something that I would expect for $1...This is NOT the markets you would pick up your weekly need of veggies at, you couldn't afford to. $11 for a loaf of fresh bread, really...that's like double what I would pay at Whole Foods (whole paycheck as it's known). Now I get getting a fair price for your product, for your work, what you do...but it's a head of lettuce, it's a carrot...are the costs of growing that much more? That is a general question. MN is a very high tax State, especially compared to ID...not why I moved here at all, love the Boise vibe from the first time I came for work! I very much love this city, the people are so nice but the farmer market both confuses me and disappointed me all at the same time! I will come down ever weekend, I will enjoy the people, the smells, the food and coffee...especially the Bagels...but I will NOT buy lettuce which is such a shame! If you have ever eaten freshly grown lettuce compared to the stuff you get from the grocery store, everything about it is so much better. It actually has flavor, a crunch, taste...but not for $8 (using an average) that's just stupid! Where do the chefs buy fresh produce? Where do the families who want to buy local, want a healthier life for their families...where do they shop? Curious!

What a cute market! Tons of parking in the area or on the street as well as bike parking in the…read moremarket. Every one of the vendors we spoke with was friendly and the myriad of products available was great. We spit a breakfast sandwich (olive tapenade, sausage, egg, and more!) as well as a mango smoothie (tart) from one vendor, before walking through the market. We ended up buying a bottle of wine and a jar of jam for our journey home. Minus 1 star because it was a) a bit expensive and b) full of dogs even though signs say no dogs (I like them, but not everyone does - for those who don't, it would be good to enforce or at least be aware, it's not a dog free market).

The first thing we noted is that it was very easy to park. The market was a lot smaller than most…read moreother markets I have been to, with only about twenty stalls and a couple of food trailers. About half the vendors were selling crafts and half were selling food. Personally, I'm not interested in crafts, so I'm taking away one star because there were only about a dozen choices for eating. We checked out the market in the morning because since it was going to be hot later in the day. Next time, though, we would rather come at lunch time because there was some lunch-time fare that looked delicious: a hot dog and sausage stand (with very friendly proprietors that were a lot of fun to chat with), a tamale stand, and a trailer that sold "Thai rolled ice cream" for dessert. Another thing different from other street markets I have been to is that there were a couple of stalls where kids were selling food. I'm not sure how the other vendors, whose prices were comparatively high, felt about kids who were basically setting up a lemonade stand with super cheap prices -- but we liked it. brownies for only 50 cents each, while we paid about $3.50 for a scone at a more traditional bakery vendor. There was also some music, although it happened to be a sort of mediocre singer-songwriter. Update: After reading more about the market, I see that it started out as a youth market and the organizers still encourage young people to participate. That's great! When we were there there were two youth-run food stalls, both with tasty treats at low prices.

Indigo and I love exploring farmers markets in the summertime. We heard about this one and ventured…read moreout. I was concerned about parking but found a free parking lot just across the street. Super cinchy! Located at Meridian City Hall Plaza, the Meridian Main Street market is easy to get to. It is bit smaller than other markets, less crowded, more relaxed and I wasn't worried about losing Indigo in a crowd. This market had a little bit of everything. We sampled only a few places and were not disappointed. We got coconut milk and rice pudding (will update when I find out the vendor name) , a soda coffee (so much better than it sounds) from Brew'd Attitude, a pastry (kouign amann) from Gaston's Bakery, and a candle from the Luna Light Project. We listened to live music as we enjoyed our drinks and newly acquired goodies before heading home. If crowds aren't your thing, you like to support small businesses, you enjoy live music and sunshine, then you will enjoy this pleasant market. Note: The Meridian Main Street Market is formerly known as the Meridian Youth Farmer's Market, please see their website for more details. Indigo gives the Meridian Main Street Market 40 stars for friendly people and fantastic treats!

Wonderful selection of vendors and the best food and treats!!! Love relaxing and listening to…read morewonderful music. Great family atmosphere

I really liked the music and all the vendors, I do wish there wasn't so many stands of exclusively…read moreplastic 3d printed trinkets since they'll probably just end up in a landfill.

Great stand with a large variety of fruits, canned good and more. The cherries were deliciously…read moresweet as were the blueberries.

Great place for fresh produce. Highly recommend this place!! Fresh corn on the cob right out of…read morethe field, watermelons and cantaloupe that are great, green beans, squash and peaches to mention just a few of the things they have to offer. Very friendly, helpful workers.

Love this place. Usually hit it at the end of mtn bike rides on the greenbelt. A chill enough place…read moreto drink a Ruth's Lager by one's self, or to make some friends around the fire pits on the cool evenings. Tuesdays are great for a variety of foods, and Fridays seems to be music nights. Love that it's right on the greenbelt. Just makes Boise that much cooler for the walkers and bikers on the greenbelt enjoying the outdoors. Mike is as friendly an owner as I've met. Just does a great job making this place a cool hang.

Can I give this place 392 stars? I almost don't want to write this review cuz i want to keep this…read moregem to myself....butttttt Mike & Tom deserve this review. We were on a LIME scooter ride on the greenbelt, and this little set up caught our eye. We paused and discussed going over to check it out. A guy at the bar yelled to us "It's better over here! We have beer!" Come to find out this was co-owner Mike who is such a great person. We were roped in! We sat at the cool bar on the tree stump stools (this place is SO COOL!) and were immediately sold. Tom was talking about these drinks called Boozies. (my new favorite thing) I of course had to try one. They come in grapefruit or cranberry. GO FOR THE GRAPEFRUIT! And this is what I drank ALL. DAY. $7/can. Didn't even care. They brought out 2 cornhole boards and we ruled the court! Probably played 20 games and met so many cool and new people in the process. A band started up around 7, and it was a great vibe. other notes - - only 2 portapotties, but were relatively clean. - Boozies, and 3 beers from Western Collective. The IPA was good! - food trucks & live music! - amazing view of the river - big umbrellas for shade / if that's your thing. Mike and Tom deserve major high fives for this rad place. What might look like a gravel lot with some old spools & tree stumps - officially kicked off my 2019 summer. Planning on coming back every time I'm in town! Thank you for the memories!

Love Blue Barn! They are the nicest people. Their Amaize corn is definitely amazing! Their other…read morefruit and veggies are good too.

This local market reminds me of my days living overseas. If you could happily survive on fresh…read morefruits and veggies (like me), this local delight will be your haven of food porn. Just got 3 Hermiston watermelons (the best) for our wedding reception at 10 cents a pound less than our local stores.

The family that owns and runs Purple Sage Farms has a wonderful back story and does a remarkable…read morejob of providing herbs, salad greens, edible flowers and, in season, culinary peppers of all kinds to home cooks and eateries in the Boise Treasure Valley. In the last few years they are raising lambs too. (See PS at end for their info about the lamb breeds and how they are raised.) As avid home cooks who are passionate about supporting local farmers and using local sourced ingredients, my husband and I have been Purple Sage fans since we discovered them on a visit to the Boise Farmer's Market in 2013, before we moved to the area. In the ten years we have lived in the area Purple Sage fresh and dried products purchased at our local CoOp or the Boise Farmers Market in season, have been used in our kitchen on several days during every week for many dishes. Once we discovered Purple Sage was raising lamb, our favorite protein to cook when we use animals although we are vegetarian cooks about 90% of the time, we added that to the line up. We recently learned that Purple Sage will deliver (two days a week, I think) in the Treasure Valley and that includes lamb as well as all other items. As a cook with growing disabilities (I have had multiple sclerosis since college days) delivery sounded great to me to avoid a trip to the CoOp or Farmers Market. Delivery is free with an order of $25 or more and a modest delivery fee otherwise. Yesterday we tried the delivery service for the first time and it was such fun to have abundance of gourmet mix salad greens, arugula and fresh herbs including flowering thyme, chives, cilantro, peppermint, tarragon and dill delivered to our door along with a couple of lamb shoulder steaks and a half leg roast. (As with all local farmers who sell animal proteins, the lamb is frozen after butchering.) We are grateful for this family and the work they do to help nourish us! Here is a link for others who want to learn more about how to buy from Purple Sage Farms. https://www.purplesagefarms.com/shop PS - Here is what they say about their lamb: "We raise Katahdin and Dorper breeds, hair sheep known for their delicately flavored meat. These are smaller stature sheep that shed their wool--super practical for our farm. Our lambs are raised and finished on grass and are harvested at 90-100 lbs. We send animals for slaughter weekly April to December."

From the owner: For 30 years Purple Sage Farms has specialized in growing a wide range of organic herbs, greens and…read morevegetables. Today, that has expanded to over 250 varieties of crops ranging from the familiar and traditional to the obscure and exotic, whether they are culinary, medicinal or both. Purple Sage Farms greens and salad mixes change with the seasons and include a wide variety of colors, flavors, and shapes. Among all of the crops, nutrients are high and flavors are prominent. Our artisan products are crafted to perfection at the on-farm commercial kitchen. Purple Sage Farms herbs, spices, greens and vegetables are thoughtfully grown and proudly certified organic on our family farm in Middleton, Idaho.