Becca Knutson, the market manager for Cowtown Farmers Market, began running her own farm in early August in Azle. She grows eggplants, onions, peppers and more.
Knutson, who was formerly teaching about gardening and cooking at the Tarrant Area Food Bank, stressed the importance of knowing how to grow your own food.
“We know there’s more people moving here, and we need more food. We need to grow it and we want it to be local so that we can be self-sufficient and not rely on supply chain issues and things happening elsewhere,” Knutson said. “People are realizing how important it is to have your food close by and know where it comes from.”
Guests line up to buy fruit from a peach vendor at the Cowtown Farmers Market festival on Aug. 13 at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Mind Your Garden founders Ursula Nuñez, left, and Steven Nuñez teach how to make meals with fresh ingredients at the Cowtown Farmers Market festival on Aug. 13 at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ursula Nuñez, a Mind Your Garden founder, pours cantaloupe water at the Cowtown Farmers Market festival on Aug. 13 at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Mind Your Garden founders Ursula Nuñez, left, and Steven Nuñez teach how to make meals with fresh ingredients at the Cowtown Farmers Market festival on Aug. 13 at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Mind Your Garden founders Ursula and Steven Nuñez use ingredients to teach guests about fresh meals at the Cowtown Farmers Market festival on Aug. 13 at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Vegetables sit on a table to be sold at the Cowtown Farmers Market festival on Aug. 13 at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Do-it-yourself micro-greens kits are available for guests at the Cowtown Farmers Market festival on Aug. 13 at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
On Aug. 13, about 20 vendors, who are all members of the Cowtown Farmers Market organization, filled the lot at Veterans Park, 8901 Clifford St., and sold everything from peaches and nuts to meats and vegetables.
“All of our vendors come from within a 150-mile radius of our market, so it’s very hyper-local stuff. Everybody here is growing, raising or making the products they’re selling,” Knutson said.
On the north side of the market, Mind Your Garden founders Ursula and Steven Nuñez taught guests how to make fresh meals with homegrown ingredients purchased at the market.
Guests were able to use WIC and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, benefits to purchase fresh, homegrown produce. In partnership with the Blue Zones Project, Texas Health and the Tarrant Area Food Bank, guests could receive double their funds to purchase produce, Knutson said.
“Somebody who receives SNAP benefits, they may think they can’t afford to come to a farmers market, or they might not have a grocery store nearby that has a lot of good produce,” Knutson said. “Farmers market produce can be a little more expensive than the grocery store so that’s an incentive to come out and support the farmers.”
Cowtown Farmers Market hosts vendors from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday throughout the year and Wednesdays during the summer months.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.