BUCKHANNON – Create Buckhannon has officially launched a website to the public that allows people to order from the Buckhannon-Upshur Farmers Market.

Create Buckhannon member Katie Loudin said the website allows customers to pick the produce they want to purchase from the farmers’ market, pay with a credit card and then pick it up at the market.

“It’s like any other e-commerce site, so people should be familiar with the layout,” Loudin said. “You just go to the link, you add what you’d like to purchase to your cart, change the quantity if you’d like and you just get a confirmation after you place your order. You can place your order via credit card and the link is secure and you can pick up your items on Fridays between 4 and 7 p.m. at the farmers’ market; the farmers will have it packaged up and ready to go for people.”

Anyone who wants to pick up their produce on Friday at Jawbone Park needs to place an order by 8 p.m. on Wednesday of each week, and you can pay securely with a credit card at www.bufarmersmarket.com/shop.

She hopes the website will help people shop for produce from local farmers and expedite the process.

“The market is open on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Fridays from 4 to 8 p.m., but we will be offering the online ordering via pickups on Fridays, with Festival Fridays,” Loudin said. “Right now, Appalachian Acres has their produce on the site, but we were talking with a few other farmers and we hope to offer more farmers’ produce and products on the site as the weeks develop and as their yields get bigger through the growing season.”

Create Buckhannon received a $5,000 grant to build the website and Mike Ruffing with Problem Solvers Consultants developed the website.

“We had it going for the last couple of weeks, but we only opened it to Create Buckhannon members, to work the kinks out if there were any, but now it’s open to the public; the shop is up and ready to go,” Loudin said. “We hope people would take advantage of it and we’re excited about it launching this summer.”

More information about the Buckhannon-Upshur Farmers Market and their new website may be found on their Facebook page.

Festival Fridays also kicks off this Friday, June 3 at Jawbone Park from 5 to 8:30 p.m. The Jesse Milnes Band will headline from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and the B-U Jazz band will open the show from 5 to 6 p.m. Access a complete Festival Fridays schedule here.