Haywood's Historic Farmers Market

Haywood's Historic Farmers Market stands out in Waynesville for pairing a Saturday farmers market with SNAP access, giving shoppers a direct way to use benefits on local food. Established in 2008, the market is producer-only, with produce sourced from Haywood or an adjacent county alongside meats, fish, eggs, honey, dairy, flowers, nursery plants, preserves, baked goods, and heritage crafts. That mix makes this a market where mountain-grown produce sits beside seafood, goat cheese, bread, flowers, and handmade goods in one stop.

Why it matters locally

Established in 2008, Haywood's Historic Farmers Market is built as a producer-only market, with produce coming from Haywood or an adjacent county. That local boundary shapes the market's identity around direct relationships between nearby growers, makers, and shoppers rather than resold goods.

The organization also describes itself as a Waynesville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultivating healthy communities by supporting relationships between local farmers, producers, and the public. Its local reach extends through EBT/SNAP, Double Up Food Bucks, and a Haywood Gleaners partnership, tying food access and outreach to the regular Saturday market.

What you'll find there

The vendor mix covers a wide range without losing its local-market feel: seasonal produce and plant starts, meats and eggs, seafood, flowers, pantry goods, baked items, and a substantial handmade craft lineup. Several vendors lean deep into specific niches, so the market can work as both a grocery stop and a place to pick up gifts or specialty ingredients.

• -White Oak Farm brings lamb, rabbit, pork, blueberries, leafy greens, eggs, and pumpkins.
• -French Broad Creamery offers goat cheeses, goat-milk soap and lotion, and cajeta.
• -Hillbilly Shrimp Market lists halibut, red snapper, branzino, salmon, haddock, flounder, triggerfish, yellowfin tuna, blue crab, sea scallops, and shrimp.
• -Sustainabillies grows plant starts, produce, and mushrooms, and also sells jewelry, metal smithed goods, and kombucha mothers.
• -Lingering Thymes Farm & Studio includes seasonal produce such as fall paw paws plus grilling sauces, salts, infused vinegars, jellies, preserves, and syrups.
• -Fruits of Crazy Creek sells raspberries, blackberries, apricots, grapes, plums, peaches, nectarines, pears, and apples.
• -Always Love Gardens stocks a long vegetables list including corn, melons, squash, fennel, onions, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, okra, and greens.
• -Bertollini Agricola adds microgreens, lettuces, herbs, root vegetables, berries, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, beans, and starter plants.
• -East Sylva Flower Farm focuses on fresh seasonal flowers.
• -Four Sisters Bakery bakes bagels, sourdough boules, focaccia, croissants, cinnamon rolls, and also pours hot coffee by the cup.
• -Queen's Bees Honey carries extracted and comb honey, beeswax products, herbs, and pollinator plants.
• -R & R Woodcraft makes handmade wooden furniture and cutting boards.

The calendar also goes beyond shopping. The Market Mentor Education Series runs on Saturdays, with classes featuring vendors including Valley View Farm, Farm to Cake Bakery, Hidden Valley Farm, Great Commission Coffee, Fire on the Mountain Candle Company, Sustainabillies, and Crescent Moon Farm. Seasonal programs add kid activities, a tomato tasting and harvest raffle at Summer's End Festival, a pumpkin carving contest, a Memorial Apple Bake-Off, and an indoor holiday market at Frog Level Brewing.

Know before you go

No dogs are allowed, which is one of the clearest visit rules to plan around. The market is held in the HART Theatre Parking Lot at 250 Pigeon Street, so parking and market location are the same destination rather than separate errands.

If you want a shorter stop, some vendors accept advance orders for scheduled pickup, including vendors on the market's order-ahead page. The regular market runs on Saturday mornings from spring into December, while the season-closing indoor holiday market shifts to Frog Level Brewing's Lineside Event Space on Commerce Street.

Payments & SNAP

SNAP and credit/debit cards are accepted at Haywood's Historic Farmers Market. The market also provides SNAP/EBT user instructions and connects that access to Double Up Food Bucks, expanding how shoppers can use benefits on market purchases. That makes this market especially useful for households planning a produce-and-staples stop with flexible payment options.