16 June 2025
By Ivanna Washington
Contributing Writer
In advance of marking its 30th anniversary, Crescent City Farmers Market is making a temporary move of its Uptown farmers market from Tulane Square to The Batture, located at 25 Walnut St.
The market is still open every Tuesday from 8 a.m. to noon, bringing residents closer to local farmers, fishers, ranchers and food vendors, expanding the availability of fresh foods within the city.
“This not only allows customers to connect directly with the producers of their food, an anomaly in modern day food systems, but also allows vendors to receive 100 percent of the sales they make, versus the 13 cents on the dollar when selling into wholesale markets – like for grocery stores and restaurants,” said Angelina Harrison, the executive director of Market Umbrella, the nonprofit that owns and operates the Crescent City Farmers Market.
“Farmers markets create a valuable ‘third place’ – somewhere that’s not work and not school that community members can gather at, socialize and enjoy the outdoors, all while stocking up on fresh, healthy foods,” she added.
With the move, the Tuesday market hopes to gain a new setting that offers more space for vendors to serve the city’s residents. There will now be on-site parking, green space and Mississippi River breezes, staff said.
Aside from the Uptown location, there was also a move of the Sunday market to the City Putt parking lot following Super Bowl festivities earlier this year. While that move is permanent, the Uptown market plans to stay at the temporary location for about eight to nine months.
“Located right next to the Great Lawn and across from the City Park playground, this central location is the hub of park activity on the weekends and gives our market excellent visibility,” Harrison said. “Our long-time market at Tulane Square also recently temporarily moved to The Batture as the result of tennis and pickleball court construction happening at our long-time Tuesday location,” she added.
In addition to the farmers markets, Market Umbrella operates several other community programs meant to support and enrich the lives of local families.
Market Match, an incentive program for SNAP recipients, matches produce purchases up to $40 at each market and at partner retailers across the city.
Market Mommas Club supports breastfeeding parents with children up to 6 months old and parents-to-be who plan to breastfeed and are currently eligible for Louisiana Medicaid and/or WIC benefits. Participants in market-approved breastfeeding support groups receive $60 in tokens per month for six months (or until the program ends) that can be redeemed at any of the weekly Crescent City Farmers Markets (tokens do not expire). The next cohort enrollment period will open in July.
Greaux the Good, a statewide program that partners with farmers markets and other local food outlets, provides support in implementing nutrition incentive programming including SNAP, senior FMNP (Farmers Market Nutrition Program), and WIC FMNP match.
Market Umbrella also has educational programming for children, including Meet Me at the Market, a Fall field trip program that introduces children pre-K through third grade to farmers, and teaches them about agriculture and food systems; and the Marketeers Club, which mails shoppers under the age of 12 a voucher for $5 in tokens on their birthdays to spend at any of the organization’s markets. Parents can enroll their children in the Marketeers Club by completing the online form at www.marketumbrella.org/our-work/marketeers.
The organization is also working with other local food system nonprofits to create a collaborative food access project soon to be located at Myrtle Banks in Central City. It will include a farmers market, community gardens, commissary kitchens and more. The other partners involved include Recirculating Farms, New Orleans Food Policy Action Council (FPAC), Top Box Foods and Sprout NOLA. The YMCA, City of New Orleans and Job One, who will provide culinary certificate training, are also partners in the project.
“This is a testament to the need to create these community spaces, and programming that we’ve long run that supports small scale food producers, increases fresh food access within our community and supports the local economy,” Harrison said.
Currently, the markets are open on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to noon at The Batture (25 Walnut St.), Thursdays from 3-7 p.m. at the Lafitte Greenway Plaza (500 Norman C. Francis Parkway at Bayou St. John), and Sundays from 8 to noon in the City Putt parking lot (33 Dreyfous Drive).
For more information about the Market Umbrella programs or the markets, visit www.marketumbrella.org.
This article originally published in the June 16, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.