After being relocated more than a year ago amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Victor Valley Farmers Market will return to the lower campus of Victor Valley College next week.

Starting Thursday, August 12, the state-certified Farmers Market will be set up weekly in the parking lot directly across from the VVC Gymnasium on Fish Hatchery Road, Victor Valley Farmer’s Market Manager Michelle Cregut said. , at the Daily Press.

Visitor parking will be located on the dirt court near the VVC police building and at the entrance to the Mojave Riverwalk on Fish Hatchery Road, according to Cregut.

The market will feature fresh farm produce and small businesses, retailers and food vendors, including favorites like Old Towne Bakery and Bon Jour Kefir Yogurt, which serves more than 30 flavors, Cregut said.

“A lot of our customers love our lemonade guy’s lemon, ginger and carrot orange drink and the variety from the food vendors,” Cregut said. “We have everything from vegan to hummus, Thai to Mexican and panini sandwiches.”

Over the years, some of the farmers in the market have included Angel Farms of Riverside County, Zeng Thao Farms, based in Fresno, and Buenrostro Farms of Mentone.

The farmers market moved to a dirt lot on the southwest corner of Rock Springs Road in Apple Valley just after March 2020, when VVC officials closed the campus at the start of the pandemic.

But returning to college doesn’t mean the end of the temporary market location, which is at the intersection of Deep Creek and Rock Springs Roads.

“After speaking with our customers, we realized we had to keep our location off of Rock Springs Road,” Cregut said. “The Farmer’s Market will continue weekly at the Apple Valley site starting September 4.”

Cregut said Apple Valley’s market will be similar to VVC’s, but will also include vendors that are generally unauthorized, such as mobile carriers, healthcare companies and large retailers.

In a previous interview, Kerri Santoro, who started the Farmers’ Market almost 30 years ago, told the Daily Press that the company has survived the Great Recession, economic downturns and relocations in addition to the pandemic. of COVID-19.

“We are grateful that the state viewed agricultural markets as a critical activity early in the pandemic,” Cregut said. “But while we only closed for about three weeks, the shutdown affected many of our suppliers and customers.”

To set up in the market, vendors pay around $ 50 for a space of 10 feet by 10 feet. Farmers and food vendors pay 10% of gross sales “based on the honor system,” Cregut said.

The High Desert Farmers Market runs from 8 a.m. to noon every Thursday at the Lower Campus of Victor Valley College, 18422 Bear Valley Road, Victorville.

At the Apple Valley site, the market runs from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday.

For more information visit www.HighDesertFarmersMarket.com or dial 760-247-3769.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz can be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.