The Community Farmers Market mobile market will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Barren River District Health Department at 1109 State St.

The market will have double dollar benefits for up to $20 for people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the United Statement Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants and Children Program and the Senior Nutrition Farmers Market Program. This means they can get $20 worth of produce for $10.

“The success of that program depends on people walking through the door and spreading the word about the programs,” said market volunteer Jackson Rolett. “The vouchers go further at the farmers market than they do at the store.”

The market will feature summer produce, including watermelon, sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes, summer squash, cantaloupe, farm fresh eggs, eggplant and peppers, Rolett said.

“It’s an easy and acceptable type of produce. People can look at a tomato and know what to do with it,” he said. “The produce is a lot easier to use, a lot more approachable and super, super fresh.”

This is the third year the market has been held in front of the health department, said health department Community Health Improvement Branch Director Diane Sprowl.

“When we first started there wasn’t a downtown market at all. It makes it easier for people who have senior nutrition vouchers and WIC vouchers to use them,” she said. “Employees love having access because it’s hard to get to locations otherwise. People who live in the vicinity of the health department can have access as well. We have a lot of people just walking by who decide to stop. We can have fresh, unprocessed produce.”

Market Outreach Coordinator Nikki Gray agreed.

“By setting up in a food desert, which is what the downtown area is – there’s not much access to fresh fruits and vegetables – it allows us to bring fresh fruits and vegetables to people who may not have access to them,” she said.

There is additional access to fresh fruits and vegetables downtown now. The SOKY Marketplace opened a little more than a year ago at Seventh Avenue and Center Street. It is open Tuesday and Saturday mornings.

A lot of the health department staff enjoy having the farmers market on their doorstep, Rolett said.

“They spend part of the day talking about healthy vegetables,” he said. “It’s a good way to practice what they preach.”

Lots of people come to the market, Rolett said.

“If the weather is nice, we’ll have a couple hundred people come out,” he said.

Shopping at the farmers market gives back to the local food community and economy,” Rolett said.

“It helps our neighbors. When somebody buys my food or buys my produce part of that goes to support my family. Then I go to Spencer’s coffee shop to help them,” he said. “It helps our dollars stay local. It helps grow agriculture economy. The more relationships grow, the more needs we can meet in the community.”

Gray said organizers are seeking more locations to set up the mobile market.

“Right now we don’t have anything specific scheduled, but we would like to grow our mobile market,” she said.

The regular business hours for the Community Farmers Market is from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays year-round at 2319 Nashville Road next to Western Kentucky University’s South Campus.

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter @bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.