Countryside Farmers' Market at Highland Square

Countryside Farmers' Market at Highland Square ties a Thursday stop in Akron to a larger local food mission that asks shoppers to spread the word about the local food movement and connect more directly with farms through programs like CSA. The market runs at Will Christy Park in Highland Square, giving this seasonal evening market a neighborhood setting rather than a fairgrounds feel. It is part of Countryside’s wider work in Northeast Ohio, which since 1999 has focused on connecting people, food, and land through farmers' markets, farm programs, and local food education.

Why it matters locally

Since 1999, Countryside has connected people, food, and land throughout Northeast Ohio, and the Highland Square market is one expression of that long-running work in the greater Akron area. Countryside’s programs re-establish farms in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, run farmers’ markets in the Akron region, and educate citizens about the importance of local food systems.

That mission extends beyond a single weekly shopping trip. Countryside’s leadership has paired farmers’ markets with food access programs and longer-term planning for local food projects, including advisory work focused on market success and financial sustainability. In Highland Square, that means the market operates not just as a place to buy food, but as part of a nonprofit effort centered on local agriculture, access, and ongoing farm-to-neighborhood connections in Akron.

What you'll find there

The strongest documented thread here is prepared, program-led food activity tied to seasonal produce rather than a published vendor roster. Countryside’s Highland Square programming points to hands-on ways shoppers can take market ingredients home, with recurring recipe kits and tasting events built into the season.

• -Pick up the Cooking with Countryside mini-meal kit featuring chopped kale salad for the Highland Square market.
• -Find a later mini-meal kit centered on peach bruschetta with Highland Square pick-up details.
• -Catch Tomato Tastings during the Thursday, August 8 Highland Square market event.

The market’s seasonal run at Will Christy Park is also specifically identified as a Thursday market in Highland Square, which helps frame it as a regular neighborhood stop with occasional special programming. Thursday evenings at Will Christy Park give this market a distinct rhythm: it is a summer-only, after-work market in Highland Square, set from 4pm to 7pm rather than in an early-morning slot. Countryside layers that schedule with programming that turns shopping into dinner planning. In July alone, the Highland Square market hosted mini-meal kit pickups for chopped kale salad one week and peach bruschetta the next, both organized specifically around market pickup. Later in the season, Tomato Tastings added another produce-centered event to the Thursday market. That combination of park setting, evening hours, and recipe-driven events gives the Highland Square market a practical weekday feel: shoppers can move from the stand to a planned meal, with the organization’s local food mission carried through in the details of what happens on site.

Know before you go

There are no restrooms listed for this market, a detail that can shape how long you plan to stay, especially with kids or a multi-stop evening. The market is held at Will Christy Park, with abundant street parking around the park on South Rose and Augusta Avenue as well as nearby side streets. Dogs are welcome, which makes this one easier to fold into a neighborhood walk through Highland Square.

If you need a direct contact, Serena Jones is the farmers' market manager, and the listed phone number for Countryside is 234-334-4622. The season runs on Thursdays from early June through late August, with no market on July 4 noted in the seasonal event listing.

Payments & SNAP

SNAP is accepted at the Highland Square market, and Countryside also notes acceptance of Ohio Direction Cards. WIC and Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program vouchers are accepted as well. At the market information booth, shoppers can also use Produce Perks, the SNAP nutrition incentive, and Carrot Cash, the WIC nutrition incentive.