VIDALIA — Those looking for a source of locally grown food need search no farther than Vidalia’s west end.

The newly created Delta Farmer’s Market is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday on U.S. 84 near the Vidalia Municipal Complex. The market opened in early June, but only two vendors have participated.

City coordinator Larry Chauvin said the market is in its infancy, trying to recruit small-scale farmers.

“We are simply trying to encourage people to bring their produce to where we are organizing the farmer’s market, near the municipal complex,” he said. “We aren’t really going for large-scale farmers, but they are certainly welcome to come.”

Vendors aren’t charged to sell produce, Chauvin said.

LSU AgCenter extension agent Sarah Nuss said she envisions tents selling artwork, flowers and every fruit and vegetable imaginable as a part of the newly created farmer’s market.

But for most of last week, Vidalia resident Bernice Beer was the only vendor to use the market, running Cecil Parker’s stand.

“Usually, it is just this tent, Riverview Farms,” Beer said. “He has been selling here for years. It would be nice if more people came to sell things, but on Wednesday another man came to sell some produce.”

The second vendor — local farmer Buddy Miller — sells produce at a number of locations, including Lake St. John, the Natchez Farmer’s Market and a food stand in Waterproof. Miller said he even had his own market in front of the old Concordia Parish Courthouse for several years.

But he said shifting to a strong, centralized farmers market could be an important part of the local economy.

“The difference that a dollar makes when purchasing locally grown food is a lot more than if someone buys foreign food, picked a week ago,” he said. “I think people would prefer to buy fresh, local food over foreign food.”

In an attempt to jump-start the market, the City of Vidalia created a community garden in a field next to City Hall. The garden is used by five people currently.

Mayor’s administrative assistant Glen McGlothin said the garden is designed to provide a place for Vidalia residents to grow their own crops and potentially sell them at the nearby farmer’s market.

“The garden provides free land and water to people who might not have their own yard,” McGlothin said. “The plan is also to use the garden to help boost the farmer’s market. There is just something special about a fresh vegetable.”

Nuss said she hopes to cement Wednesday as the main day for the Farmer’s market as it gains traction.

Chauvin said he plans to apply for grants through the federal government and USDA to create a building to house the farmers market.