Four weeks after launching its 2022 season, the Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market is making a slight alteration to its location. Instead of the layout it’s been using since opening on May 28 — 2nd Avenue SE, 3rd Avenue SE and 4th Avenue SE between 2nd Street SE and 5th Street SE — the market will now be on 2nd Avenue SE to 4th Avenue SE and 3rd Street SE to 5th Street SE.
The shift is “due to the flood wall protection project happening in downtown Cedar Rapids,” the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance (CRMEA) explained in a news release.
The new layout starts this Saturday and “will continue through the end of the market season with the last market on September 17,” CRMEA said.
This is the market’s 17th season, and this year it features more than 50 vendors as well as family-friendly entertainment. As in previous years, the market will also help provide for people experiencing food insecurity through the Home Run for Hunger program. The program is a partnership between the farmers market, the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP), First Federal Credit Union and the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Its volunteers gather food donations from vendors after the market closes, which HACAP then provides to the community food pantries it works with in Linn and other eastern Iowa counties. Information on how to support Home Run for Hunger will be available at the farmers market’s information booth.
The Cedar Rapids Downtown Farmers Market will be held every other Saturday, from 7:30 a.m. to noon, through Sept. 17.
