On the Grow | Austin's Farmers' Markets 2016 #ATXBESTEATS City Guide

UPDATE: This #ATXBESTEATS City Guide has been updated! The 2017 guide to Austin's Farmers Markets, with current locations and hours of operations can be found here. Thank you for stopping by!

It's an honor to share my passion-- supporting local farmers and food artisans--for a second year. This second annual guide sees a newcomer, as well as a few changes in hours and locations for local markets. You can see the first annual guide, here, for reference, if you're curious. Thank you for your interest and patronage of our local wholesome food purveyors.  

Welcome weary travelers!  Welcome to Austin. Have a great time while you're here. As a contributor to the Austin Food Blogger Alliance 2016 City Guide, I have the pleasure of sharing what's near and dear to my heart, and my appetite-- Farmers' Markets in Austin. I spend a lot a time around the markets and I've come to love the sense of community, the availability of peak of the season fruits and vegetables, and just for hanging out, eating delicious prepared foods, and jamming with the band. I'm even a farmers' market chef. Join me on a fresh adventure around Austin and thank you for supporting your local farmers!

The challenge to traveling light and lean is often the lack of  healthy, wholesome food among the greasy spoons and fast food one often settles for on the road. In absence of sound nutritional and convenient choices along the highways and byways, a drive-thru salad day old salad bereft of color and flavor with a hefty squeeze of what passes for ranch-style dressing is about as healthy as you'll find. Yet how, and where you choose to fuel your body will go a long way toward energizing you for vacation days, and nights, of walking, and partying, during SXSW, or any time spent knocking around Austin, for that matter.

Now, just how many In-and-Out burgers are you going to stuff in your face before you start feeling the effects of haphazard and hasty food choices? Sluggish, bloated and worn down is not what you're after when you're on the go, go, GO. Treat yourself right.

When your body starts to disapprove of that typical road food fare (or all that barbecue you've been scarfing down?), head over to one of Austin's friendly farmers' markets and dig right in for a little digestive rescue. You'll find farmers, ranchers, beekeepers, prepared foods to eat on site or take away, and in many instances, art, body care, clothing, jewelry, ponies, petting zoos, family-friendly special events and even FREE LIVE MUSIC. Really! No wristband required!

Austin, and the surrounding area, is filthy with food choices from farmers' markets and local farm stands almost every day of the week. A comprehensive listing and map of all Austin and surrounding area farmers' markets, sorted by day, can be found at Edible Austin.

Below, find listings for all farmers' markets, certified by the Texas Department of Agriculture, within the Austin city limits.

Barton Creek Farmers' Market 
2901 1/2 Tamarron
Austin, Texas 78746
Days of Operation: Saturday
Hours: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
List of market vendors

Hope Farmers' Market 
412 Comal Street
Austin, Texas 78702
Days of Operation: Sunday
Hours: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
List of market vendors
Photo credit: Hope Farmers' Market

SFC Farmers' Market Downtown 
422 Guadalupe
Austin, Texas 78701
Days of Operation: Saturday
Hours: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
List of market vendors
Photo credit: Thomas Winslow

SFC Farmers' Market at Sunset Valley 
3200 Jones Road
Austin, Texas 78745
Days of Operation: Saturday
Hours: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
List of market vendors
Photo credit: Thomas Winslow

SFC Farmers' Market at the Triangle
4700 W Guadalupe (Triangle Avenue)
Austin, Texas 78705
Days of Operation: Wednesday
Hours: 3 - 7 p.m.
List of market vendors
Photo credit: Thomas Winslow

SFC Farmers' Market East
2835 E. MLK Jr. Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78702
Days of Operation: Tuesday
Hours: 3 - 7 p.m.
List of market vendors
Photo credit: Thomas Winslow

Texas Farmers' Market | Mueller
4550 Mueller Blvd - Under Historic Browning Hanger
Austin, Texas 78723
Days of Operation: Sunday
Hours: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
List of market vendors

Texas Farmers' Market | Lakeline
11200 Lakeline Mall Dr
Cedar Park, TX 78613
Days of Operation: Saturday
Hours: 9 a.m - 1 p.m.
List of market vendors

Feel like going straight to the grower? You're not far from the source. Several urban farms operate within the Austin city limits, and at least two of those farms lay claim to some of the friendliest folks you'll meet in Austin. Stop by these flourishing East Austin farm stands where you'll find tables teeming with abundant, freshly-picked produce and more.

Boggy Creek Farm Stand
3414 Lyons Rd.
Austin, TX 78702
Days of Operation: Wednesday-Saturday
8 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Seasonal Report

Springdale Farm Stand
755 Springdale Rd.
Austin, TX 78702
Days of Operation: Wednesday and Saturday
9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Currently Growing

Stay tuned for 2016 guides for Middle Eastern Food, Creole Food, Barbecue, and Favorite Specialty Food and Wine Shops in Austin, and be sure to check out additional recommendations in every category of food and drink under the sun, at #ATXBESTEATS.

-------------+++-------------

Disclosure: As mentioned above, I work as a market chef contractor with Texas Farmers' Markets, the operator of markets at Mueller and Lakeline, listed above.  .