Joining the Market – Lexington Farmers Market

How Do I Join the Lexington Farmers’ Market?

Thank you for your interest in joining the Lexington Farmers’ Market (LFM) cooperative. Unlike some other farmers’ markets that you might be familiar with, the LFM is a cooperative group of farmers and food producers that happens to primarily operate several farmers markets. The LFM operates both a year-round Saturday market and several seasonal markets throughout the spring, summer, and fall. If you would like to sell at any of the market locations, you first must be admitted to the cooperative organization. The Lexington Farmers’ Market strives to provide a wide variety of products to the community at our markets while maintaining an engaging market for our cooperative members. As such, we only have a limited number of new vendor spots available each year for our various market categories.

Interest
We accept applications year-round for new vendors at the market. This page should provide all the info you need to get started!
Eligibility
To be eligible to join the Lexington Farmers’ Market, you should be over 18 years of age, and have a food- or agriculture-related business in Kentucky.
Application
New applicants should read the Member Manual, and complete and submit the New Member Application and Subscription Pledge Form.
Review
All new applications are carefully reviewed by the Board of Directors, who then vote to decide whether an applicant is a good fit for the market.
Verification
If accepted, a new member will need to pay their subscription fees (or agree to a payment plan), submit necessary permits, and schedule a site inspection.

Interest

We have a very diverse group of vendors, including a number of farmers and producers of ready-to-eat food and value-added products, and your business might be a great addition!

Eligibility

Due to our cooperative constraints, all members of our market must be Kentucky-based and have a business representative 18 years or older. Please note that eligibility is simply a minimum threshold for membership in the Lexington Farmers’ Market and does not guarantee admittance to the market. Additionally, products that have no Kentucky-based direct farm impact may fail to meet market-based eligibility requirements. Craft items, jewelry, personal care items, candles, and decorations typically are in-eligible unless you are growing a primary or signature ingredient.

Application

To gain access to the 2025 LFM New Member Application and associated documents, please complete the interest form at the link below, and market staff will contact you as soon as possible to share the application and answer any questions. We look forward to hearing from you, but please note that we are often out of the office, especially during the summer months, and our responses may be delayed. We appreciate your patience, and will be in touch shortly.

Click Here for Interest Form

Review

All applications are reviewed by the LFM Board of Directors. This process can take as little as 2 weeks and as long as several months, depending on the application. During this selective process, the Board of Directors might request more information or require a pre-acceptance inspection by market staff. While the decision making criteria remain proprietary, in general a higher direct farm impact, a closer geographic farming location to Lexington, and the novel or unique nature of the business/products tend to increase an application’s chances of being approved.

Verification

If an application is approved, staff will schedule a on-site verification of the applicant farm or production facility. This will also act as an information exchange session and is the last step before membership will be fully extended.

Subscription

Members pay subscription fees based on the number of 10 x 10 booth spaces they will occupy, and the number of 17-week “seasons” during which they plan to participate. A week is defined as Monday-Sunday. Vendors may make multiple selections (ex. 2 booths/1 season + 1 booth/3 seasons = $3230 lump sum). A 17-week “season” can start at any point, as approved by market staff, and unused weeks may be rolled over to use at end of 17-week period, with permission of market staff.

Why a subscription? Briefly, a subscription allows the market to provide staff support, to promote farmers year-round, host multiple market days and locations each week during the spring/summer/fall, provide services, create a resilient budget, and supply high-quality resources that customers have come to expect.

Note: The Subscription Sign-up below is provided as an example only. Prospective Vendors must apply and be accepted into the market before any subscription fees will be accepted, and fees may differ based on payment method, subscription adjustments, etc.