SPRINGFIELD – A weekly farmers market is coming to Downtown Springfield. The Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA) board agreed to direct the city manager to enter a Memorandum of Understanding with Lane County Farmers Market to establish a farmers market in Downtown Springfield on Sundays during peak produce season.
Lane County Farmers Market is Eugene’s largest farmers market. It is widely visited on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Farmers Market Pavilion at 8th and Oak St. According to SEDA’s Nov. 10 meeting agenda, the market has identified Downtown Springfield as a new market area to serve community members with fresh food.
The Sunday markets in Springfield would take place in the library’s parking lot and the parking lot across the street (behind the PublicHouse parking lot). The partnership would start in the 2026 market season.
“A successful market would create economic vitality by bringing shoppers to downtown businesses on a Sunday and increase overall vitality, interest, and opportunities to move or build in downtown as your Urban Renewal Plan states,” Allie Camp, economic development manager, said.
Board member Alan Stout expressed his support for the partnership.
“It’s a two-for-one opportunity to spend some real, lengthy time downtown. So I can’t imagine a better time and place to do it,” Stout said.
Mayor Sean VanGordon questioned the separation of the lots and asked if it would make more sense for the market to occur all on one block.
Camp acknowledged the observation and pointed out that, “For farmers’ markets to be successful and the produce to look really great, they need shade and they need access to utilities. The library parking lot, which is the lot on the right side of the street, would provide suitable conditions for the produce to look really good and shoppers to have a good experience and want to buy more,” she said.
Camp said the lot on the left side of the street would be for vendor parking.
