It’s National Farmers Market Week! Here’s a bit of data about the market, to help you see what you support when you buy local with us #farmersmarketsdontjusthappen
Participate in a BINGO game this week at the market to enter to win a bag full of goodies like these on August 17! We love celebrating you!
By Kat Peters, Market Manager
We are here! It’s National Farmers Market Week! We hope you come out to the market this week to get some awesome "I <3 Farmers Market" tattoos, play a little Farmers Market BINGO (to win a bagfull of market goodies), and to get your favorite local food and produce.
We put together a little bit of the data behind the Coffee Creek Farmers Market (CCFM). When we say we are trying to strengthen the local food system, this is what we are talking about!
CCFM is made up of 28 vendors this year. They don’t all come every week, but we have a wonderful base of full season and regular vendors, plus occasional vendors that bring amazing variety to our local offerings. Twenty-eight is about all that we can fit in the parking lot!
Left: The market on a lovely Wednesday afternoon. Right: House of Rufus
78% of our vendors are women- or jointly-owned. This is what we mean by buying local. All of our businesses are locally-owned, and many times the person selling you the product is the business owner her- or himself! So many of the businesses are family-owned, or fully owned by women. Yes we can!
Speaking of businesses, did you know that your purchases at CCFM support over 136 local jobs! That’s right! More than 136 people have jobs because you buy produce and food at the market. Thank you!
Left: Lane's End Farm. Right: Mitzner Meats
Our vendors are from the neighborhood. While the farthest vendors are our farmers, at an average of 25 miles away from the market, our overall average distance from vendor home-base to the market is just 15 miles! Talk about hometown goodness!
This year we have had three main produce farms at the market, along with Mitzner Farms providing meat products, Small Hands Homestead and H&H Flowers providing flowers and plants and goats milk soap.
As a producer-only market, our farms sell what they raise themselves. During key summer weeks they also bring a few items from neighboring farms, such as sweet corn, blueberries, cabbage, or cherries and peaches. Overall, 7 local farms are directly sourced for the market. Check for signs at each booth for more information about the few items that are brought from other farms.
Left: Fruits brought by Kajers Greens. Right: Produce grown and brought by Native Roots Farm
Speaking of that local produce, we offer more than 40 varieties of fruits and vegetables at the market! When we eat seasonally, we eat what is available on the farms and orchards in our area. This means that the varieties available change from week to week. This makes each trip to the market even more special, as it may be the last week to find any given item.
You are the reason we exist! As long as you shop with us, we will be here, providing locally produced food. This summer the average number of customers has been 408. We are so proud to provide you with your grocery needs each week.
Kajers Greens
Find us this week and every week at our Wednesday market at the Coffee Creek Watershed Preserve Pavilion parking lot, April 20-November 2, 2022, from 3-7 PM. Check us out on Facebook and Instagram, and sign up for our mailing list to get notified of all of the vendors' featured products each week.
Starting June 20, vote for the Coffee Creek Farmers Market as your favorite market and help us to win part of this year's $10,000 prize from American Farmland Trust and the Farmers Market Coalition! Click here to cast your vote for us and get a free No Farms No Food bumper sticker!
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