The Princeton Farmers Market is returning to Hinds Plaza, next to the Princeton Public Library, on June 1.
The Princeton Council approved a resolution to permit the farmers market to use a portion of Hinds Plaza, which is owned by the town, at its May 8 meeting.
The farmers market will be held every Thursday, between June 1 and Nov. 16. It opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m.
The Princeton Farmers Market followed a peripatetic path following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, moving from place to place around Princeton.
The farmers market moved from Hinds Plaza to the municipally-owned Franklin Avenue parking lot in 2020 and 2021. The move was made to ensure that adequate space and social distancing could be maintained between vendors and patrons, officials said.
The Princeton Farmers Market moved to the “Dinky” shuttle train’s parking lot on Alexander Street in 2022.
It was decided to move the Princeton Farmers Market back to Hinds Plaza, since work on the first phase of the Witherspoon Street improvement project was nearing completion, officials said.
“The reintroduction of the Princeton Farmers Market at Hinds Plaza will enhance the pedestrian activity that was prioritized in the (Witherspoon Street) improvements,” Deputy Administrator Deanna Stockton wrote in a May 4 memorandum to the Princeton Council.
At an earlier Princeton Council work session on the plan to bring it back to Hinds Plaza, Princeton Farmers Market representatives Jess Morrison and Natalie Fiorino said they expect about 22 vendors to sign up. Live music is anticipated for part of the market time.
The Princeton Farmers Market’s winter market, which ended April 20, featured 21 vendors who offered homegrown mushrooms, farmstead cheese, meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Other vendors offered a variety of foods that included North Indian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Italian foods. There were several bakeries, and even a bakery that made small batch, homemade dog treats.