Haymaker Farmers' Market

Portage County Job & Family Services administers SNAP at Haymaker Farmers' Market, a telling detail for a Saturday market that also runs year-round in Kent. The market sets up under the Haymaker overpass on Franklin Avenue between Main Street and Summit Street during the outdoor season, then moves indoors to United Methodist Church’s Pierson Hall for winter. Its vendor mix stretches from certified organic vegetables and pastured meats to raw-milk cheese, sourdough, coffee, sauces, flowers, and body care, with producer-only guidelines shaping who sells there.

Why it matters locally

Kent State University’s Flashes Fighting Hunger works at the market on nutrition education, fundraising for its food pantry, and collecting unsold produce, with Kent Social Services receiving that produce through the partnership. Haymaker also developed and continues to maintain two gardens at its downtown location with Edible Kent, tying the market directly to the site where shoppers gather. Access programs run deep here: Portage County Job & Family Services administers SNAP, Produce Perks Midwest supports a grant-funded Produce Perks program, and all vendors selling produce accept WIC FMNP and Senior FMNP benefits through the Homegrown Benefits App. Socially Responsible Sweatshop of Kent sells goods at the market to raise money for local food assistance programs, including fully funding the WIC Perks program.

What you'll find there

The mix here leans broad without losing its farm-market center: multiple vegetable growers, several meat producers, bakery staples, prepared foods, flowers, coffee, pantry goods, and nonfood makers all appear in the regular lineup. That variety matters because Haymaker combines direct farm shopping with ready-to-eat stops and practical vendors you might not expect, like knife sharpening.

• -Birdsong Farm brings certified organic vegetables, flowers, herbs, plant starts, and a seasonal CSA.
• -Ellington Farms raises beef, pork, chicken, and eggs.
• -Old Forge Dairy, based in Kent, makes aged cheeses with raw milk.
• -Brimfield Bread Oven bakes European-style sourdough breads, pastries, and other baked goods.
• -Bigfoot Mushrooms grows exotic and medicinal mushrooms.
• -Hyde Park Farm adds farmhouse granola, fresh-cut flowers, local kiwi fruit, hazelnuts, and currants.
• -Martha's Farm sells vegetables and fruits grown through Ethnic Traditional Farming practices.
• -Tea Hill Farms offers pastured chicken, pork, duck, and turkey plus 100% grass-fed lamb and beef.
• -Tierra Verde Farms raises grassfed beef and lamb along with pastured pork, chicken, and eggs.
• -MacLean Greens supplies hydroponic lettuces, arugula, broccoli, pea shoot, and wasabi microgreens.
• -Barton Farms and Gardens stocks jams, jellies, spreads, hot peppers, herbs, produce, and fresh cut flowers.
• -Kres Kitchen focuses on plant-based ferments such as sauerkraut.
• -Smyrna Mediterranean Morsels prepares soups, pies, tabbouleh, baklava, dips, and sauces.
• -The Curious Crepe serves handcrafted sweet and savory crêpes from a mobile stand.
• -Frank 5 Tool Sharpening sharpens knives and scissors at market or by dropoff.

Art At the Market runs through the last Saturday of each month from April to October, and Music at the Market is a weekly free concert series supported by the City of Kent, the Ohio Arts Council, and the Portage Foundation. Holiday Markets are scheduled for Dec. 5, 12, and 19, and the Harvest Dinner is a four-course farm-to-table event at The Barn at Walnut Drive on August 9, 2026.

Haymaker’s strongest through-line is how much it asks a Saturday market to do in one place. Under the Haymaker overpass on Franklin Avenue, shoppers are not just buying produce and bread; the market also hosts a weekly free concert series, monthly Art At the Market dates, and volunteer work tied to farm tours, holiday markets, and a farm-to-table dinner. That thread continues beyond entertainment. The market maintains two downtown gardens with Edible Kent, collects unsold produce for local assistance partners, and participates in the Kent Community Timebank so volunteer hours generate time-credits for exchange. Even the annual Harvest Dinner extends the market outward, landing at The Barn at Walnut Drive rather than at the usual Saturday site.

Know before you go

No dogs are allowed, which is the detail most likely to change a quick Saturday plan. For parking, there is free parking throughout downtown, and the outdoor Franklin location includes a gravel lot maintained by the City of Kent; the market notes that ruts exist there and cautions visitors navigating the main aisle. The market is authorized to reserve and mark one parking space for assistance. Accessibility differs by season: outdoors there is a handicap accessible portajohn near the Haymaker tent, while the indoor site at United Methodist Church’s Pierson Hall has a smooth paved walkway, an automatically opening door, and a grooved threshold.

Payments & SNAP

SNAP is accepted at Haymaker, with Portage County Job & Family Services administering the program at the market. Produce vendors also accept WIC FMNP and Senior FMNP benefits through the Homegrown Benefits App, and Produce Perks Midwest supports the market’s grant-funded Produce Perks program. The market also links its Family Fruit & Vegetable Program to Ohio TANF eligibility requirements.