Need a great way to spend your tax refund?

How about fresh, locally grown foods?

The Homegrown on the Village Green Farmers Market opens for the year Friday. The market will operate from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday through September in the sand parking lot on Village Green Drive West in downtown Pinehurst.

The market will feature a variety of vendors selling an array of fresh foods and other items.

"This is an ideal location and a great time for people who are thinking more about eating healthy, locally grown food," said Molly Goodman, a senior planner with the village of Pinehurst.

Vendors are all members of the Sandhills Farmers Green Market.

Gary Priest, president of the Sandhills Farmers Green Market, said buying locally grown foods helps local farmers and the economy. The locally grown food, he said, also has a taste and freshness that are unparalleled.

"Most of the produce you buy from the grocery store may look pretty, but chances are it was picked four or five days before you first see it at the store," he said. "That doesn't compare to something that was picked fresh today and put on your plate tonight."

Priest said the first market will feature spring crops, including asparagus, strawberries and sweet potatoes. He is expecting to add free-range poultry, grass-fed beef, eggs, baked goods and plenty of garden plants and flowers.

This is the first full year for the farmers market downtown. Last year, the market operated on Thursday afternoons from June through October.

This year, organizers hope a change in the day and time will spur more interest.

"It's closer to the weekend, so we hope more people will be thinking about eating and cooking fresh foods on the weekend," Goodman said.

Interested vendors should contact the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service at (910) 947-3188 for an application to the market.

Contact Tom Embrey at tembrey@thepilot.com.