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PITTSBURG – The Camp County Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Pittsburg are sponsoring the Pittsburg Downtown Farmer’s Market this year.

The event will be held every Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon beginning May 9. The booths will be set up along Tapp Street next to the Pittsburg Police Department.

“There was a lot of interest in continuing the farmer’s market again this year and we hope to see it grow significantly every year,” said Lynda Stringer, executive director of the chamber.

To be successful, the farmer’s market needs participation from local farmers, gardeners, individuals and groups from not only Pittsburg and Camp County, but surrounding counties as well. The chamber and the city are offering vendors booth space free of charge to sell fresh homegrown fruits and vegetables, flowers, plants, eggs, home-canned items such as jams, jellies, salsa, etc., and home-baked goods.

The chamber is opening the farmer’s market this year to those who would like to offer home-canned items and baked goods, so the public has a wider selection. Non-profit organizations that would like to set up a booth as a fundraiser to sell items that fall into these categories are welcome to do so. However, the chamber does want to remind vendors that this is not an event for crafts or flea market items.

“We see this as a service to the community, to our local growers and to our downtown businesses that would benefit from the added shopping traffic,” Stringer said.

Texas AgriLife Extension Agent Sara Barrett has agreed to offer demonstrations on cooking fresh produce on certain Saturdays during the summer.

The demonstrations would offer shoppers valuable information about produce they may not recognize.

“With our economy in the shape it’s in, it is important for cooks to understand how to work with fresh fruits and vegetables so you can stretch your family’s food dollars,” Barrett said.

While there is no fee to set up a booth, vendors must obtain a permit form at the Chamber of Commerce office at 202 Jefferson Street and file it with the police department.

For more information, contact the Chamber of Commerce office at 903-856-3442.