Goochland Courthouse Farmers Market returns with SNAP matching, new crosswalk

Fresh food will be easier to buy and safer to reach at the Goochland Courthouse Farmers Market, where Goochland County is pairing SNAP matching with a new Sandy Hook Road crosswalk. The Tuesday market at 1889 Sandy Hook Road runs from May 5 through Sept. 29, 2026, from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and county leaders are pitching it as more than a shopping stop. They are treating it as a food-access tool and a public gathering place for courthouse-village evenings.

That shift matters most for shoppers using SNAP/EBT. Goochland County says the market now participates in Virginia Fresh Match, which doubles SNAP dollars spent on fruits and vegetables at participating markets. Shoppers check in at the market information tent, swipe their SNAP or EBT card and receive matching tokens to spend on eligible produce, a setup that stretches grocery budgets for families who may not be able to pay cash at every stall.

The market itself is built around that broader access message. County materials describe it as a boutique market with seasonal produce, grass-fed poultry, beef, pork and lamb, fruits and berries, honey, baked goods and select artisan crafts. Weekly food trucks and live music add to the draw, with the Goochland Chamber of Commerce providing the entertainment. Officials also say the market sits in a park-like setting with plenty of parking, but the new crosswalk changes the last step of the trip by making the walk from the large parking lot across Sandy Hook Road safer and easier.

County staff say the crosswalk was completed with CVTA local funds approved by supervisors, a practical improvement that suggests the county is trying to remove the kinds of barriers that can keep families away from a market even when the food and prices are right. The market’s recent growth gives that effort more weight. In its inaugural collaborative season with Powhatan County, the market drew 45 vendors and more than 6,000 visitors and went on to earn a 2026 National Association of County Parks and Recreation Officials award in the Parks & Recreation Program - Class 1 category, which covers localities under 200,000 residents.

The market’s partnership model grew out of the county parks and recreation departments after the retirement of longtime organizer Lisa Dearden of RVAg. Along with the Powhatan Village Farmers Market, it now sits inside a wider local-market ecosystem that county officials are using to support small growers and makers while giving residents a reason to spend summer evenings downtown.