My family loves to visit the amazing Haile Farmer’s Market in Gainesville, Florida every Saturday morning.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over a year since we moved to Gainesville. There are so many different things that drew us to the town where we live, but one of the biggest draws for me was the community vibe that I never really felt in South Florida. We live in the large neighborhood of Haile Plantation, broken into smaller subdivisions. Within the hub of our neighborhood is the Haile Village Center, lined with small businesses, like restaurants, a coffee shop, doctors’ offices, realtors, and more. Every Saturday, starting at 8:30 am, is the Haile Farmer’s Market. Visiting the Haile Farmer’s Market each Saturday is one of my very favorite family routines.
The Haile Farmer’s Market attracts a variety of local farmers, cheesemakers, bakers, butchers, nursery owners, and other vendors. While the vendors change throughout the year, I would love to share some of my absolute favorites with my readers!
Vine Sourdough Bakery makes my favorite bread in town! Their store is located on Main Street just north of downtown. The bread is made with a sourdough starter – my favorite is the Country Loaf – and the only other ingredients are non-GMO freshly-milled flour, filtered water, and Himalayan salt. Additionally, they make delicious baked goods, like croissants, cookies, and quiches, as well as fresh pasta.
We decided to join a CSA {Community Supported Agriculture} this past fall, and we chose Siembra Farm. Siembra Farm is located on the east part of town. It is a small, organic farm, and every other week, we picked up a huge bag of incredibly fresh vegetables, herbs, fruits, and sometimes flowers. Shares were just $30 each week {with a small start-up fee} and contained such a great variety of whatever was in season at that time. Joining a CSA really helps to expand beyond what you may otherwise choose at the grocery store, helping to add variety to what may become a boring selection of recipes from which to choose. I’d highly recommend exploring CSAs within your community!
My kids LOVE The Hyppo Gourmet Ice Pops. With two locations in Gainesville and several other locations throughout the state, it’s a great place to visit when you want a refreshing treat, especially in this hot summer sun! Hyppo makes simple flavors like Orange Cream and Strawberry, but also more complex flavors, like Chocolate Sea Salt and Watermelon Jalapeno. Also, as an added bonus, FREE pops on your birthday!
Fehrenbacher’s Artisan Sausage opened their brick & mortar store less than a year ago in an area that is becoming 4th Ave Food Park, between the University of Florida Campus and Downtown Gainesville {been on the look-out for additional restaurants that are being added}. They make so many hand-crafted sausages, fresh, frozen, smoked and cured meats, including, Italian pancetta, Canadian bacon, smoked pork jowl, ground and linked sausages of pork, lamb, turkey, and beef. We love the ginger & sage breakfast sausage, datil & garlic sausage, and jowl bacon.
Several other local farms offer CSAs and a variety of fresh vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flowers. The springs flowers are my favorite. I love looking at the beautiful colors and textures. Each bouquet sold by each farmer is unique, so you can really pick one that is perfect for your home! Two other local farms include Swallowtail Farm in Alachua, which hosts awesome fall and spring events, Possum Hollow Farm also in Alachua.
Toward the front of the farmer’s market, there’s a woman who sells authentic South American food, including Bryce’s favorite “meat pies” (AKA empanadas). They are perfectly seasoned and the outer crust is crisp. They are one of his favorite treats. There’s also a baker who makes muffins, cruffins, cookies, and other tasty baked treats, some of which are vegan, that you must try when you visit Haile Farmer’s Market. And I cannot forget LEJ Pretzels. They offer traditional salted soft pretzels and a sweet variety with a tasty horchata glaze over the top.
Each week, there’s a musician playing beautiful music at the farmer’s market, toward the center of the Haile Village Center. It’s so nice to hear as you wander through. There are also nursery owners selling local plants. This is a great place to pick of native butterfly plants, like pentas and lantana!
I also need to call out two awesome places to get coffee. In the cooler months, I love the hot vanilla lattes at Haile Village Bistro. Knee-high boots, skinny jeans, a sweater, and a warm latte – Winter perfection! However, in the summertime, Patticakes is the best place for unique iced coffee drinks, like the Honey Lavender Iced Latte. Both are also known for their tasty food as well, so be sure to grab a bite to eat while you are there!
Living so close to Haile Farmer’s Market was definitely one of the things that drew me to this Haile Plantation, and I’m so glad we’ve made a weekly tradition of going there together as a family. There’s always something new to try, whether it’s a prepared food, seasonal vegetable, or coffee flavor at our favorite shop. Gainesville celebrates the small business owner!
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