The Sitka Farmers Market will introduce its new tote bags on July 27.

The new tote bags will be for sale at all of our Sitka Farmers Markets for the rest of the season, or until we are sold out. The tote bags cost $10 each, but a purchase of at least $50 from the Sitka Local Foods Network farm stand will get you one free tote bag.

The bag is 10 ounces of durable cotton (so you can wash it), and there is a wooden button so you can close the bag to keep items from falling out. In addition to using the bags to haul your Sitka Farmers Market produce purchases, you can reuse it when you shop for groceries.

“There will be a plastic bag tax ballot initiative on the October city ballot, so we decided it was time we started selling reusable tote bags at the Sitka Farmers Market,” Sitka Local Foods Network board president Charles Bingham said. “We have too much plastic litter, and using reusable bags will help with that problem.”

The tote bag sales will serve as a fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network, which hosts the Sitka Farmers Market each summer.