The Mount Vernon Farmers Market has seen an increase in the number of vendors throughout this season.
Laura Strabala, Mount Vernon Farmers Market manager, noted that from 2020 to 2021 that the market has seen an increase of vendors by roughly 75 percent throughout the season.
“Back in 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rick and Trude Elliott and I had to have a talk about what was the wisest way to tackle trying to hold a market in light of the constantly changing safety recommendations and procedures,” Strabala said. “Would anyone come? How would the season turn out? Is it worth everyone’s time and effort? In the end, it was decided to forge on ahead and do things as close to how the market normally ran prior to covid.
“I believe that keeping the market as normal as possible helped to bring a sense of ‘we’re able to do this and we’ll get through this just fine.’ And it worked, the market did get through just fine.”
The number of vendors increasing at the market seems to have come from the extra time people had in 2020 during the pandemic to utilize some of their talents and delve into running small businesses.
“Another reason why I believe the market has been successful is because of the hard work, integrity, and attention to detail on the part of the vendors,” Strabala said. “These people are the true grit kind of people. They put in the long hours, sweat equity, patience and a whole host of other behind the scenes activity to create or produce a product that they believe in and think is worth sharing with the public.
“In the long run, this dedication always pays off.”
The third reason are the customers who choose the market themselves.
“One can have all the fantastic vendors in the world, but without the loyalty of the customer there is no market,” Strabala said. “Over the past two years the customers of the Mount Vernon Farmers Market have made an enormous effort to support small businesses and we cannot thank them enough.”
For Joan and Jim Wall, attending the farmers market and shopping from some of the vendors there comes about because of the changes they saw when they moved from Ames to the Mount Vernon area.
Joan has sold at farmers markets in Ames for 15 years, with tomatoes her specialty. Since relocating here, she is constantly fighting blossom end rot on her plants.
Their daughter, Jenny, and her children Rosalee and Theo, are some of the market’s recognized frequent customers.
As Rosalee smiles contentedly eating a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie, Lynn Stephenson, one of the vendors at the market who made those particular baked good notes this is why she loves selling at the farmers market.
“That level of interaction with people you get is one of the things I really enjoy,” Stephenson said.
This is Stephenson’s first year at the market, and she notes it is very much like the stores that were more prevalent in her youth, where conversation was just as important as the wares one is selling.
“I love that we also get foot traffic from Cornell students, and that we have items that they are seeking as well,” Stephenson said.
Megan Swift noted some of her favorite items at the shop are fresh cut flowers and baked goods at the market.
“I love that you get to interact with local people and that everyone has put so much work into all the products they have at the market,” Swift said. “It beats shopping at a huge market to get really fresh produce.”
For customer Judy Hohman, fresh produce and bread produced at the market are among her favorite items.
“Laura does a great job of managing and promoting the market,” Hohman said. “It’s a very nice and friendly place, and you see so many different people here.”
Michael Zimmer is in his 12th year at the Mount Vernon Farmers Market. While it’s not the largest market he is a member of, he really loves the vibe of the Mount Vernon market.
“Everyone you meet here is very nice,” Zimmer said.
Jim Greider of Ely said his favorite part of selling at the farmers market is meeting people informally. He’s been involved in markets for more than 17 years, including Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha, Ely, and Solon. He mainly markets his produce during the summer markets.
Strabala said that currently, the biggest thing at the market this early fall has been tomatoes, due in part to a plentiful harvest.
“Asparagus, salad greens and radishes tend to be a big hit during the spring months whereas sweet corn, green beans and watermelon are in demand over the summer months,” Strabala said. “Other items at the market that are popular include fresh eggs, along with the locally raised beef and pork meats. People have enjoyed purchasing locally raised honey so much so that our honey lady is out of stock and has to wait for her bee colonies to produce more.”
The homemade breads, kolaches and other baked goods have also been popular.
This year has also helped with attendance at the market with a unique event back in July, the market coinciding with the Farm to Fork Tales event on First Street Community Center’s lawn one market Thursday.
“That event was a lot of fun, very inspiring and it definitely drew in people who can’t normally attend the farmer’s market on a regular basis,” Strabala said. “The Farm to Fork Tales offered a platform in which local farmers were able to share with a large group of people about some of the daily activities, decision making challenges and other oftentimes humorous hiccups that folks in agriculture face on a daily basis. Events like this give a picture of what it takes to be able to raise food, protect and care for it until ready to be passed on to the consumer. I believe once a person realizes what costs are involved to produce quality food, the appreciation increases.”
As temperatures are changing, so too will be some of the items people will find at the market this fall.
“Folks can start to expect to see more storage produce such as potatoes, onions and winter squash,” Strabala said. “With the days becoming cooler, vendors have been planting some more short season root crops such as radishes and turnips or even some salad greens such as spinach and kale.”
Strabala said baked goods and crafts also make more appearances in the winter months.
Strabala noted that this year’s long dry spell in August have impacted local crops.
“A lot of our farmers had to irrigate their gardens quite a bit, and that has been a huge challenge,” Strabala said. “Tomatoes have been really happy with the weather this year, but other crops like corn have taken a hit due to the lack of water during a critical growing portion of their life cycle.”
The location, consistent hours and vendors at the market and the relationships built between these customers really help the consistency of the market.
“I also believe some of it may have to do with the fact that folks are genuinely more appreciative of knowing where their food is sourced and they are also desiring to support small businesses in any way they can,” Strabala said.
Judy Hohman talks with Jim Greider about produce at the market Thursday, Sept. 9.