A new farmers' market will launch Saturday morning in Patton Township, organizers said Thursday.

The market, known as the North Atherton Farmers' Market, will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through Nov. 20, said group President Laura Young, of Spring Mills.

She said nearly 20 vendors will participate on the market's inaugural weekend. It will be held in the parking lot of the State College Home Depot, 2615 Greentech Drive -- just off North Atherton Street near the Mount Nittany Expressway.

Like many other farmers' markets in the region, the North Atherton group will be a producers-only operation, Young said. That means vendors are required to sell only what they grow, raise or bake themselves.

Products will cover a range of produce, baked goods and meat, Young said. A representative from the Cheese Shoppe, based in downtown State College, will sell fresh-roasted coffee.

"We're trying to make it a little bit more of a social atmosphere," Young said. She said tables and chairs will soon be available for customers looking to linger.

The area already sees two farmers' markets on Saturdays -- one each in Bellefonte and Millheim. The Bellefonte market is held on Wednesdays, too.

In State College, the downtown hosts a market on Tuesdays and Fridays. There's also one in Boalsburg on Tuesdays. And an Amish farmers' market does business several days a week at Hills Plaza in State College.

Young said organizers of the North Atherton market saw a particular need for a Saturday market in the Centre Region -- especially one with ample and easy parking. She said vendors have been eyeing the North Atherton area for several years.

"It's definitely great that we'll be able to fill in (a) gap" on Saturdays, Young said. "That's when a lot of people do their shopping."

The North Atherton group already has 23 committed vendors, most of whom do business at other markets in the area, Young said. One newcomer will be an Amish family making homemade potato chips and certified organic lard, she said.

Young, who runs a nursery and a goat farm, said Home Depot has been gracious to let the market group use the parking-lot space. She said additional information about the market is available at www.nathertonmarket.com.