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This the second of a two-part series about local farming.
Shopping at a farmers market is more than getting fresh, delicious produce. It’s supporting your community.
Shane Fields, of Phoenix Farmacy, who comes from a long line of farmers, understands that community and how farmers benefit from their own community that results from working together.
“Dragonfly Food Truck supports local farmers market. Holly Ross with Better Than Flours started out at the farmers market and she’s buying Ervin Miller of Miller’s Fresh Produce,” he said to illustrate his point.
The Greenup Farmers Market offers special events that create a chance to socialize and visit with neighbors. It’s already had the season opener; the next event will be Love our Country on July 1; other events are planned through Nov. 4, which is the Holiday Market and the close of the season.
Linda S. Hieneman, Greenup County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, works with Anne Stephens, agent for fine arts, and Jeremy Grizzle, manager of the Greenup County Farmers Market, to provide a shopping experience that goes beyond the chance to buy locally grown food.
Of the 42 members of the market, there are famers with produce and plants as well as those selling crafts and value-added items, which are products made from locally grown ingredients, like jams and jellies.
“When I was in college, they’d say in the ag community, the dollar turns over seven times,” Hieneman said. “But then, we also have the farmers market, where they work together and help each other. They buy from one another. Somebody might buy maple syrup and use it to make a value-added product, like cookies. You’ll see them buying from each other and supporting each other, and that creates a good community as well.”
The Greenup Farmers Market has a presence in downtown Russell once a week, and Hieneman said the brick-and-mortar businesses there support members of the market and they support Russell businesses.
“Those businesses are staying open longer, they’ve changed their hours to accommodate the farmers market,” Hieneman said. “Dragonfly gives us coupons for so-much off lunch or sandwiches.”
Farmers who sell through the Boyd County Farmers Market, which dates to 1979, had a total market sales for last year of $137,995, all of which was take-home for farmers, mostly for basic income or to supplement retirement funds.
Like the Greenup market, the Boyd market has a mixture of produce, meats, crafts and value-added items, Lori Bowling, Boyd County Extension agent for horticulture, said. Bowling works directly with the famers market in Boyd County. Farmer members believe it’s important to have a relationship between the farmer and the shopper.
“The farmers also believe it is important customers understand that most food products that are fresh that you purchase at the grocery store are, at best, anywhere from two to six days old by the time you see it for sale at the store,” Bowling said. “By supporting your local farmers, you are not only supporting that individual, but you are also supporting the local economy, but the big plus is that you are choosing to serve yourself and your family the freshest product that you can.”
The Greenup market promotes its own through the Know your Food, Know your Farmers program in which a different farm is highlighted, giving shoppers a chance to get to know the place their food and other products come from. The market also offers a kids market on the third Thursday of each month, and Music at the Market is on the first Saturday of each month.
Bowling said the Boyd market does what it can to bond with the community through government programs.
“The Boyd County market has vendors who are eligible to take the Senior and WIC Farmers Market vouchers, which is a boost for a lot of our low-income seniors and our young mothers,” Bowling said. “Our market also participates in the Kentucky Double Dollar program for seniors, which means those seniors who receive the farmers market vouchers are eligible to also receive more coupons to be used at the farmers market during the season.
“Our market tries to participate in programs that we know will help our community members and we are always willing to host partners who may want to set up at our market to help reach community members about their programs,” she continued. “We have the Boyd County Health Department that joins us every Thursday to hand out their information and they played a part in our Customer Appreciation Day we held last year at our Cannonsburg location.”
In Greenup, the markets overlap other functions as much as possible, Hieneman said, which creates events to further build community. For example, the market on July 1 has a patriotic theme, and Halloween and the Holiday Market celebrate community holidays.
Local farmers markets will have a variety of fruits and vegetables as they come into season. Other items include herbs, plants, honey, maple syrup, jams and jellies, baked goods, eggs, meats, woodwork products, jewelry, soaps, gourd art and other products. It’s a good excuse to mingle with others and, perhaps, meet new people.
“You can get not only fresh, local, healthy food, but (shopping local) helps reverse a cultural trend toward isolation,” Fields, of Phoenix Farmacy, said. “The point of having a community of people with specialties that you can share information with and help each other.”
Fields also encourages others to try their hand at growing food.
“Farming is something that has been generational in my family as far back as we know,” he said. “A lot of hard lessons have been learned. The local extension officers and universities have conferences and things to help people out, so even if you don’t have any of that generational knowledge, you can go to local extension office, farmers market, you can connect with those people and start to learn. That’s what they’re there for.”
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