The Missoula Valley Winter Market runs Saturdays inside the Missoula mall’s Events Concourse between Shields and Dillard’s, offering locally grown produce, baked goods and handmade crafts through April 11. Joel Verrett, general manager of Missoula Community Access Television, introduced organizers Pam Walzer and Nancy Riesheff on MCAT’s Your Missoula program to explain the market’s location, schedule and vendor mix.

Pam Walzer said the market was formed after earlier winter-market attempts failed in 2012 and vendors decided to keep a year-round local option available. “We formed the Missoula Valley Winter Market,” she said, describing a mix of growers, bakers and artisans now gathered in a single indoor site that attracts mall foot traffic.

Why it matters: the market consolidates goods otherwise scattered among three summer markets and keeps Missoula-grown produce available in winter months. Organizers said several farmers grow year-round in greenhouses, so shoppers can find cold-tolerant greens and herbs such as lettuce, spinach, parsley and cilantro in February.

Organizers estimate the market hosts about 40–50 vendors, with roughly three selling year-round and eight or nine focusing on vegetables; Nancy Riesheff, who sells hats and small gift items, said the market added more than 25 new vendors this year. Walzer said the schedule is Saturdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. leading up to Christmas, then 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. until April 11, with the first 9-to-2 date after New Year’s on January 2.

Food-access programs are part of the market’s offer. Walzer said the market accepts SNAP (EBT) and participates in a Double SNAP program that can match up to $30 for fruits and vegetables. She also described a Providence Health Center partnership in which some clinic clients receive vouchers to spend on produce at the market.

The market’s move into the mall concourse — first using an empty Lucky’s space during the pandemic, then relocating to the Events Concourse — organizers said, increased visibility and parking compared with prior locations such as the UBC space, the Elks Lodge and the Senior Center.

For shoppers: enter at the West (Shields) entrance near the mural by the railroad to find the market in the concourse. For vendor or program inquiries, MCAT provided an email (MCAT@MCAT.org) and phone number ((406) 542-6228).