BUCKHANNON – The Buckhannon-Upshur Farmer’s Market has started to accept online orders.

Customers can go the Buckhannon-Upshur Farmer’s Market Facebook page and find a tab to shop, see all the available produce and place an order before going to the market. Create Buckhannon member Katie Loudin said she wanted to help make it easier to support local farmers and help community members get the freshest produce.

“People are busy and maybe they can just swing by after work and pick up what they need, or maybe you don’t have to have cash with you – it’s a quick and convenient way to access local food and support local producers,” Loudin said. “We were just trying to make it easier and make it a little bit more COVID accessible by making sure people can just get what they need without having to be in large crowds.”

She said the shop is similar to any other online store and customers can pay with a credit card.

“You add things to your cart, just like with any other online experience and then you can see the quantity that you’re going to get in the details section and which farmer the items are coming from,” Loudin said. “Then, you just checkout, and, once you put your order in, you just go to the farmers market between 5 and 8 p.m. on Fridays. You have to find Donnie Tenney with Appalachian Acres and tell him who you are, and he’ll just give you your order.”

Currently the online store features carrots, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, ripe slicing tomatoes, green tomatoes, new potatoes, green onions, maple syrup, sorghum (Molasses) and honey.

“He’ll have corn in a few weeks because the offerings will change on the Facebook shop according to whatever the farmers have available,” Loudin said. “I’m just really happy that we’ve been able to make this available and I hope people take advantage of it so that we can continue to grow it and to support our local producers in the future.”

The Farmers Market will continue to be available after Festival Fridays has concluded, possibly until October. The direct link to shop is accessible here. Farmer’s market hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and from 4 to 8 p.m. Fridays during Festival Fridays. For more information, call 304-613-3006 or email upshurcofarmersmarket@gmail.com.