This Saturday, November 21, is the last weekly market of the season at the Lower Vaughn Lot at Princeton Junction station. It runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., as it has every Saturday since May 2. The market stays open after that. From December through April, the West Windsor Community Farmers' Market meets on the first and third Saturdays of each month, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. In practice, a weekly routine becomes ten dates you plan for, and each of those dates is also a collection day for a winter food-pantry drive.
The market has run since 2004, and its own banner reads "Open All Year." Below is how the winter half works.
Thirty Saturdays, Then Ten
The 2026 main season ran every Saturday from May 2 to November 21. That is thirty market days, each four hours long. The winter schedule has ten market days, each three hours long, spread from December into April.
The winter dates on the market's homepage are:
- December: Saturday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 19
- January: Saturday, Jan. 2 and Saturday, Jan. 16
- February: Saturday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 20
- March: Saturday, March 6 and Saturday, March 20
- April: Saturday, April 3 and Saturday, April 17
"First and third Saturdays" leaves gaps that are easy to miss if you are used to a weekly market. Most of the winter dates are two weeks apart. The longest wait is three weeks, from January 16 to February 6, because January has five Saturdays and the market skips the last one. If you shop weekly now, your last chance to stock up before that gap is January 16.
The location stays the same all winter: the Lower Vaughn Lot at the train station, with the entrance at 877 Alexander Road. The homepage says "same location as main season," so you can park where you always do. The full market calendar lists each date.
What the Winter Stalls Carry
Summer and winter look different at the market, and the shorter hours are only part of it. In its August look at the season, Community News called this the county's biggest farmers market. It reported that more than 60 local farms, producers and sellers come each week at the summer peak. The same article described the winter market as "a shorter season with a different character, weighted toward storage crops, baked goods, meat, dairy and prepared foods rather than fresh produce."
At least one familiar farm name appears on the winter side. Terhune Orchards' farmers market page, updated in January 2026, lists the West Windsor Winter Farmers' Market among its markets, with the first-and-third-Saturday schedule at the Lower Vaughn Lot.
For a sense of who sells here, look at the market's May 2025 season opening. Community News covered it as the market's 22nd season and quoted manager Chris Cirkus. That story listed Jeff's Organic Produce, Jammin' Crêpes, Gorgeous Goat Creamery, LoRe Pasta, Catalina Empanadas, Bebe's All Natural, Pineapple Pink, Stefan's Pure Blend and Tico's Juice Truck as returning favorites. The vendors new that year were Kafe Ojala with locally roasted coffee, Living Smart Granola, Nutty Novelties nut butters and The Salt & Savor Apothecary. Patch reported a very similar list that same week. That was the 2025 lineup. Vendors change from season to season, and the winter product mix differs from summer's.
Some things are tied to the main season. The market's homepage says it hosts a few non-food artisans each market week. It calls them "Cool-n-Airy" makers, and they make kitchen-related goods such as functional pottery, hand-carved wooden spoons and cutting boards. The homepage also mentions occasional special events "throughout the main season." The market also states that it does not host resellers, chains, importers or franchises. The market does not limit that rule to the main season.
The Pantry Drive Follows the Market Schedule
The schedule change matters most for the market's food drive. During the main season, volunteers from Yes, We CAN! set up twice a month. Once the winter schedule starts, they are there at every market. They collect cash and nonperishable food for the Arm in Arm food pantries in Princeton and Trenton. According to the market, the cash donations are spent with its own farmers. The money stays in the market and buys fresh food for people the pantries serve.
That means every winter market day is also a pantry collection day. To bring something, the market lists Arm in Arm's requests for shelf-stable food, with no glass:
- Maseca corn flour
- Oatmeal, grits and cereal
- 100% fruit juice
- Canned vegetables, canned beans and canned fruit
The ongoing collections also take reusable grocery bags, children's books, and new or gently used socks and winter coats in adult and children's sizes. Coats are an obvious fit for a December 5 trip.
The market's Double SNAP program continues in winter too. It is a long-time partner of the Garden State Good Food Network. For each $1 SNAP market token a shopper buys, the market adds another $1 token for fruits and vegetables, up to $25 per market day. Student EBT cards are accepted as well. With ten winter market days instead of thirty weekly ones, there are fewer days to use that match between December and April.
November 21 and December 5 on the Town Calendar
Both ends of the change fall on busy days in West Windsor.
Saturday, November 21. The last weekly market runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., five days before Thanksgiving. That afternoon, the township's Diwali celebration runs from 2 to 6 p.m. at Grover Middle School. Later, MarketFair at 3535 Route 1 holds its free holiday tree lighting from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Community News reports that Santa will arrive on a West Windsor fire truck at 6 p.m. You could do all three in one day: the market in the morning, the Diwali celebration in the afternoon and the tree lighting in the evening.
Saturday, December 5. The first winter market runs 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the station. That evening at 7 p.m., the township's holiday tree lighting takes place at Ron Rogers Arboretum. Under the new schedule, the next market after that is December 19, the last Saturday market before Christmas.
For the Saturdays in Between
The market is closed on second, fourth and fifth Saturdays in winter. For those weeks, Community News points to the Trenton Farmers Market at 960 Spruce Street in Lawrence Township. It is open year-round, Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is a different kind of market with longer hours, a short drive away.
The West Windsor market comes back to its weekly schedule in May. Until then, its ten winter dates give shoppers a regular way to buy from local farms and add to the Arm in Arm drive in the same trip, at the same lot and entrance as in summer.
I'm Abdulbaset Abdulla with Abdulbaset Abdulla, and I follow everyday life in West Windsor and Princeton Junction as closely as I follow the housing market. If you'd like to talk about the town, from Saturday routines at the station lot to plans further ahead, I'm glad to help. Let's Connect.
