While Fountain Hills is known for its art scene, the town also offers its residents and visitors a unique food culture through the Farmers Market held weekly through the month of April.

Now in its second year, the Fountain Hills Farmers Market is going strong, bringing in new vendors and partnering with the Children’s Entrepreneur Market, where children can sell their wares alongside Valley businesses, according to press release from Chris Towne, who is currently interning with the Town of Fountain Hills.

The Fountain Hills Farmers Market is the work of Fountain Hills resident Betsy Hess.

Hess’ priority in creating the market was to allow small local businesses to gain more exposure to the public, the release said. Held every year alongside the annual sweet corn market and peach market, Hess has created an engaging marketplace that residents and visitors look forward to every year, according to the release.

Hess says the Fountain Hills Farmers Market offers a chance for shoppers to meet face-to-face with the farmers who are planting, cultivating and selling their food.

“(Buyers) can know what’s behind the food and where they originate from,” Hess said in a statement. “They can give you the answer of where it was caught or how it was grown.”

Hess grew up on a farm and appreciates the work put into the cultivation of fresh organic produce, grass-fed meat or wild-caught salmon, the release said. And despite being in its second year, Hess says the market has already grown in many ways including the number of visitors and the diversity of the vendors.

The Fountain Hills Farmers Market offers an array of organic items including Iranian and Turkish coffee, an assortment of teas blended with cactus fruits or imported from Thailand, fruits and vegetables freshly grown, home-grown honey, Alaskan seafood and other farm-grown foods.

The community is invited to visit the Fountain Hills Farmers Market every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. along the Avenue of the Fountains. The Farmers Market will run through the end of April.

For more information about the Fountain Hills Farmers Market and an up-to-date list of incoming vendors, visit the Fountain Hills Farmers Market Facebook page.