Westside Farmers Market

Westside Farmers Market is a nonprofit, volunteer-run farmers market in Rochester's 19th Ward neighborhood that has operated every summer since its founding in 2008. Jackie Farrell, a neighborhood resident, started the market after a community study identified the need for greater access to fresh, affordable food on the city's west side. Each season from June through October, the market sets up in the parking lot of St. Monica Church at 831 Genesee St and runs Tuesday evenings from 4 to 7 p.m.

Vendors at Westside Farmers Market sell a rotating selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables, locally raised meats, eggs, cheese, yogurt, breads, honey, jams, hummus, teas, candied nuts, and prepared meals including pizza and gluten-free and vegan options. A co-op booth fills in weekly gaps by stocking kitchen staples such as grains, dairy, and proteins that individual vendors may not carry on a given Tuesday. The market accepts cash, credit cards, SNAP/EBT, WIC and FMNP checks, and FreshConnect checks. Through the FreshConnect program, SNAP shoppers can double their benefit dollars, making fresh produce more accessible to families on tight budgets.

Westside Farmers Market is known as much for its community programming as for its food. Each Tuesday the market hosts live music from local artists, free bicycle tune-ups through R Community Bikes, a mobile library station from the Arnett Branch Library, children's craft activities, and health-oriented programming such as Walk with a Doc. The market operates almost entirely on volunteer labor and reinvests donations and sponsorship funds back into these programs, giving the weekly gathering a block-party atmosphere rooted in neighborhood participation.

The market occupies the St. Monica Church parking lot at 831 Genesee St in the 19th Ward, one of Rochester's largest and most diverse residential neighborhoods on the city's southwest side. The lot offers plentiful free parking. Genesee Street serves as a main corridor through the 19th Ward, and the church sits within a few blocks of Arnett Boulevard and the 19th Ward Community Association's service area. The surrounding neighborhood is primarily residential, with tree-lined streets and a strong tradition of civic engagement that the market both reflects and reinforces.