LSI Global Greens Farmers' Market

LSI Global Greens Farmers' Market centers immigrant and refugee growers selling produce through Lutheran Services in Iowa’s Global Greens program, a market built around farming, small-business growth, and food access in Des Moines. The market connects shoppers with produce grown by former refugees who are building farm businesses through Global Greens, and the program also offers CSA shares tied to the same effort. That mission gives the market a distinct shape: it is not just a Saturday produce stop, but a direct retail space for growers using farming as a path toward sustainability.

Why it matters locally

Global Greens farmers are former refugees building small businesses through farming, and the market gives them a place to sell directly in a market setting in Des Moines. That ties the market’s local role to economic opportunity as much as food shopping, with Lutheran Services in Iowa and its Immigrant and Refugee Community Services program operating Global Greens and related programs.

The program’s reach extends beyond one sales table. Global Greens also runs an incubator farm where farmers grow food, and it partners with the City of Des Moines to connect former refugee families to small garden plots. Individual farmer stories reinforce that local impact: one profiled grower, Bizimana, spent years in a Tanzanian refugee camp and now grows foods from Burundi. In practical terms, this market links Des Moines shoppers to crops and growers shaped by migration, resettlement, and entrepreneurship in Iowa.

What you'll find there

The mix here is defined less by a long vendor roster than by the Global Greens program itself: former refugee farmers selling produce they grew through the program, with a strong emphasis on direct-from-farm shopping. Shoppers will also see the market’s food-access focus in how produce is sold and paid for, rather than a craft-heavy or entertainment-led lineup.

• -Browse the Global Greens International Market for produce sold by Global Greens farmers in a dedicated market setting.
• -Find food grown through Global Greens Farm, the incubator farm where Global Greens farmers grow food.
• -Look for Certified Naturally Grown produce from Global Greens farmers.

The market season itself is clearly defined, with the Global Greens International Market running on Saturdays from May 03 through October 9.

Know before you go

No dogs are allowed, a detail that can change plans before you leave home. The market is associated with 3200 University Avenue in Des Moines, which is also used by Lutheran Services in Iowa as a pick-up location. Restrooms are not available on-site.

This market operates on a short weekly window, Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. during the season, so timing matters if you want to shop in person. The Global Greens program also has other pickup locations connected to CSA distribution, including Lutheran Church of Hope Ankeny, Corteva Agriscience, the Carver Center at 7000 NW 62nd Avenue, and the Global Greenhouse.

Payments & SNAP

The market accepts cash, credit cards, SNAP/EBT, WIC checks, and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program checks. It also supports Double Up Food Bucks, adding another food-access tool for shoppers using SNAP benefits. That combination makes this one of the more clearly payment-forward markets in the city, especially for shoppers planning around EBT and nutrition program benefits.