The Elmhurst Farmers Market has nearly doubled its vendor count since June, fielding more than 40 booths during National Farmers Market Week as the weekly gathering hits peak season along the Brush Hill Road corridor.

The market, held in the parking lot of Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church at 149 W. Brush Hill Road, opened the 2026 season with 21 vendors. It now hosts 10 growers, at least nine baked goods vendors, three farm specialty vendors, 11 premium pantry vendors and 11 grab-and-go food vendors, according to a market news release published through Patch.

That growth draws from a wide radius. Vendors travel between 10 and 120 miles to reach Elmhurst each week, arriving from the Chicagoland suburbs, northern Illinois, southwest Michigan and Wisconsin. Karen Froehlich of Froehlich's Finest Fruits & Vegetables drives roughly 90 miles from Berrien Springs, Michigan, every Wednesday.

"One of the things that makes selling at a farmers' market so rewarding is the relationships we have formed with all our customers as they are like friends and family," Froehlich said in the release.

The numbers back up the draw. The market logged more than 30,000 shopper visits during the full 2025 season and more than 2,500 people at the 2026 opener alone, according to market organizers. It enforces a producer-only rule: every vendor must sell products they grow, bake or make themselves. No resale goods, flea market items or multi-level marketing businesses are permitted.

New additions for 2026 include burritos, acai bowls, fresh-pressed juices, granola, roasted nuts and candies, loose-leaf teas, mushrooms and fermented vegetables, according to the market's website.

National Farmers Market Week runs Aug. 2–8, proclaimed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. The USDA has recognized the week annually since 1999.

Michael Queroz, speaking on behalf of the city's Explore Elmhurst destination marketing campaign, said in the news release that the market brings residents and visitors together while celebrating local businesses. Tracy Williams, a weekly volunteer, described in the same release watching families with young children, Elmhurst Hospital employees on lunch breaks and residents from nearby senior homes all converge on the same parking lot each Wednesday morning.

The market has served the community for more than 25 years. It operates 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday through October.