Who knew two slices of white bread, a slather of mayonnaise and an oversized slice of a red tomato could attract hundreds of Athens residents to one spot? The Athens Farmers Market, that’s who.

The scene at the newly renovated pavilion Tuesday, July 9, was nothing short of a scene out of a campy zombie movie. Hordes of people — kids included — swarmed the covered market place, chomping down on the free southern delicacy.

Tere Richardson, executive director of Athens Main Street, has worked closely with the Athens Farmers Market to bring in substantial crowds. Even she could not wrap her head around the immense number of people who came out on Tuesday afternoon.

“This has been unbelievable so far,” Richardson said. “We have done a lot of renovations to our farmers market, and we still have one phase to go, so it’s very satisfying to see everybody out enjoying the fruits of our labor — both literally and figuratively.”

Richardson credited the sponsor of the event, First Metro Bank, for providing funds for the countless tomato sandwiches they served Tuesday. She also noted that they plan on bringing back the free tomato sandwich day on Saturday, July 27, for anyone who may have missed out on Tuesday.

“It looks like it’s going pretty good,” Richardson said as she paused from making and serving sandwiches. “We are trying this new on Tuesdays, the farmers market has always been a town favorite on Saturdays.”

As the number of attendees to the farmers market grows, so does the number of vendors who come from far and wide to take part in the crowds.

According to Richardson, the Athens Farmers Market on Tuesday had 25 vendors selling various produce such as: chicken, pork, eggs, cabbage, squash, onions and more.

“This is the essence of buying local and eating fresh, there is truly nothing like supporting local producers,” Richardson said. “Every producer you see here has grown what he, or she, is selling within an 80-mile radius. From the bee farms to the artisan sellers, all of this is local.”

Kat Greene, manager for the Athens Farmers Market, detailed the importance of having the vast number of attendees to the market.

“The community wants stuff like this,” Greene said. “This is only our second year to have this Tuesday afternoon market, so to see this number of vendor and customer participation has been really great.”

Greene also touted the importance of supporting local farmers.

“For most of these vendors, markets like this are their livelihood,” Greene said. “I think it really means a lot to them to see crowds like this. It also means a lot to the customers for them to be able to meet the farmers making the things they are going to put in their bodies.”

One of the many farmers present for the Tuesday market was Larry Underwood.

“We’ve been doing this for two years now and it just seems like it keeps getting bigger and better,” Underwood said. “The crowds let us know we are in the right spot, but also that our produce is being appreciated.”