Kids' corner coming to Victoria Farmers' Market

A corner of the Victoria Farmers Market will be entirely dedicated to kids on Saturday.

The market was awarded an Imagination Playground set containing a variety of large foam blocks and loose parts to use at the Dr. Pattie Dodson Public Health Center, where the market is currently located from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday.

The playground was made possible by a partnership between the Rebuild Texas Fund and KaBOOM! – a national nonprofit with a goal of ensuring that all kids have access to the safe and active play that they need to thrive, regardless of economic status. Organizations can apply for grants from the $2.1 million that Rebuild Texas Fund is investing into building safe play areas in communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

Meridith Byrd, director of community engagement at the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent and manager of the Victoria Farmers’ Market, said she applied for a playground grant last year after a KaBOOM! representative reached out to her about the program.

“We’ve wanted to create a kids corner for a long time and this is just a great opportunity,” she said. “We want kids to come out and want to stay and have families shop together, but, of course, the market in itself is not going to be exciting for kids, so this will give them their own area.”

The playground set will be stored at the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent when its not in use, Byrd said. As part of the grant, the market agreed to make the playground available for other organizations to use upon request.

“If someone contacts me and wants to use it for their church or nonprofit or an organization (of similar nature), we will make it available and share the wealth – the love,” she said.