Shopping with Kids at Urbana's Market at the Square

A visit to the farmers market is a classic Central Illinois experience. Add kids to the mix and you’re not just buying food, you’re making memories too

Chambanamoms thanks Urbana’s Market at the Square for presenting this resource.

Urbana’s Market at the Square is the place to shop when you want to shop local. Each week the Market features fresh-picked fruits and vegetables (some grown within Urbana City limits), beef, pork, chicken, bison, eggs, fresh flowers, baked goods, and food trucks. The Market also features the work of local makers including jewelry, soap, candles, ceramics, and paintings. There are musical performers and activities for kids each week. Urbana’s Market at the Square is a producer-only market which means everything is grown, made, or produced in Illinois by the people who are selling it.

For more information: Website, Facebook, Instagram or X (Twitter)

Urbana’s Market at the Square opens for the season on the first Saturday of May. Here are some helpful tips if you have never been to the market with your kids or if you just want to get more out of your visits this year.

Explain to your kids where the food at the market comes from

On the drive to the market, take a moment to talk about the vendors that will be there and how they are bringing their goods from farms, shops, etc. Discuss how early they had to get on the road this morning to be there before the market opened so they could set up and prepare for your family to come shop.

Learn about what it means to buy “in season”

As you stroll the aisles of the market, point out which items seem to be plentiful throughout the market that week. For older kids, you can point them to this link where they can search for a particular item and see if any of the vendors are carrying that item currently.

Sprinkle in fun “extras” and make market memories

The food trucks, donuts and entertainers are there for many reasons. Our favorite parts of the market are everything BEYOND shopping for food and flowers. Start your visit with a stop at a food truck if you want to do some of these activities before you start scooping up bags and bags of things to carry around. With some exceptions …

Get in the long lines first

Time is of the essence at Market at the Square, and you’ll want to get in the most popular lines as early as possible. The baked goods line and, later in the summer, the line for peaches (oh, the peaches!) can get oh-so-very long. We’d recommend you tackle these lines before it gets any later and then swing by the food trucks or the donuts (that donut line can get long too).

Find frugal favorites

When our kids were much younger, a favorite stop during the market was to pick out a honey stick. Just a quarter — at that time, at least — and our littles loved handing the quarter over and picking out their flavor of the week.

Cook together at home

There’s something about getting your tomatoes, potatoes, eggs, greens, meat and more from the farmer firsthand. Keep the fun going when you get home and invite your kids to prepare meals with what you bought. They can see the product from start (farmer) to finish (your plates).

Looking for more tips on the complete market experience?

Visit the website for Market at the Square now, and get logistical information like parking, this week’s vendors and more.

Shopping with Kids at Urbana’s Market at the Square