In 2020, the Greeley Farmers Market went ‘gangbusters.’ Will that continue in 2021?
Andrea Haring, the Greeley Farmers Market manager, expects to see 50 vendors at the Greeley Farmers Market participating by mid-July. That’s up from 30 participants last season, which was limited by the pandemic. Courtesy photo.
By Emily Kemme
It’s 8 a.m. and the stalls are stocked and ready for customers. As the sun warms the morning air, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wends its way down the market, invisibly beckoning. Behind tables overflowing with verdant color stand proud farmers. It’s early season, and there’s bright green romaine, the darker greens of knobby kale and silky spinach, a celadon cluster of tender young lettuces, strong celery stalks, and stands of broccoli trees.
Visits to the farmers market are filled with discoveries and worthy conversation with these knowledgeable, friendly people who sell their land’s bounty.
Andrea Haring, the Greeley Farmers Market manager, expects to see 50 vendors participating by mid-July. That’s up from 30 participants last season, which was limited by the pandemic. The market draws vendors from a wide swath of Weld County, as far north as Nunn and Wellington and to the west, Lafayette and Firestone. Peaches will come in from Palisade when they’re ripened. Though some vendors may not be from Weld County, all vendors are from Colorado.
The Greeley Farmers Market generated over $234,000 sales in 2020, and Haring expects that amount to grow this year. The market operates year-round, on Saturdays from May through October outside at the Union Pacific Depot, 902 7th Ave., and moves inside to Zoe’s Café and Events, 715 10th St. on alternating Saturdays for the remaining months.
What to expect at the farmers market this summer
Last year’s season had to limit numbers, with one entrance and exit and social distancing. Even so, Haring said the market went gangbusters, with about 1,300 people rolling through in four hours. She was surprised by last year’s numbers and can’t predict if 2021 will see a repeat.
“I don’t know if people thought grocery stores were going to run out of food, or if we were the only show going — for something to do — maybe people are waiting for the produce to come in. I think the numbers will grow, but it’s been a slow start in comparison to last year,” she said.
The Colorado Crop Calendar is a reliable method of figuring out when certain crops will come in, but as the calendar notes, dates are approximate. Weather is fickle and so are things that grow out of the ground.
Why buy from a farmer directly?
Brian Coppom, Executive Director of Boulder County Farmers Markets, said a farmers market provides the largest direct access to the food system. He said there is a key differentiation between whether a market only allows growers — farmers and local producers selling what they grow — or permits resale, either someone who buys from a fellow farmer and then sells that produce, or acts as a distributor.
According to the Colorado nutrition program Nourish Colorado's website, “Large-scale farms account for roughly 3% of farms but 46% of the value of production.”
When you buy from a farmer at a market or their roadside stand, you’re putting money directly in their pockets. There are no middlemen.
“There’s nothing wrong or right with either model, but the issue is transparency. If I’m going to the same distributor that Safeway goes to and wear a farmer hat and have a truck with a logo, people can assume everything I am selling is locally grown. People expect something different at a farmers market, they expect a field-ripened product and higher quality. When their actual experience of eating the tomato is the same as eating Safeway tomato, this locally grown concept is a bunch of hooey,” Coppom said.
Andrea Haring, the Greeley Farmers Market manager, expects to see 50 vendors at the Greeley Farmers Market participating by mid-July. That’s up from 30 participants last season, which was limited by the pandemic. Courtesy photo.
So, what should that locally grown tomato taste like?
“A tomato will be really juicy, not mealy with a Styrofoam texture,” he said. Because it’s field-ripened, drawing energy from the sun and nutrients from the ground, there’s more opportunity for sugar development, creating that on-the-vine depth of flavor.
And it’s not just tomatoes. “With a carrot, you’ll get all that sweet carotene flavor. The greens have been drawing all the sun energy and storing it in that carrot. The texture and flavor will be superior to anything you can get at a grocery store.”
Coppom noted that certain products, such as apples and tomatoes, are bred specifically for their ability to travel. In many cases, flavor is a tertiary thing on the list of qualities for breeding that produce variety. “Their goal is that it arrives at the store unbruised. It sits in the warehouse at the distributor, ethylene gas is introduced to trigger the ripening process when they’re ready to put it out. That will make it change color, but you’re not getting additional nutrients or flavor. They’re beautiful but when you bite into them and they have no flavor, no sweetness, it’s not a good experience.”
Filling a critical need in a food desert
Because downtown Greeley qualifies as a food desert, the farmers market fills a critical need, Haring said. She and her team work to get the message out about EBT benefits — also known as the Colorado Quest card. Similar to a credit card, holders can use monies received from SNAP, the supplemental nutrition assistance program, at a farmers market for purchases from SNAP eligible vendors. Colorado-grown fruits and vegetables, meats, dairy, breads, poultry, snack foods, pretty much anything food-related, including non-alcoholic beverages, is game.
Additionally, the market offers Double Up Food Bucks, a federally funded incentive program that can double a person’s benefits up to $20/day.
“If they run their EBT for $20 SNAP, we give them $20 Double Up Food Bucks,” Haring explained. Greeley Farmers Market was also recently approved to accept another federal program, WIC, the Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children.
Andrea Haring, the Greeley Farmers Market manager, expects to see 50 vendors at the Greeley Farmers Market participating by mid-July. That’s up from 30 participants last season, which was limited by the pandemic. Courtesy photo.
Weld County also works to educate shoppers with its Cooking Matters program, offering four farmers market tours in English or Spanish spaced throughout the summer season. As a tour incentive, participants receive $10 in Market Bucks. The program also offers bilingual healthy cooking webinars.
Last year, Haring said the market surpassed expectations by $2,000 for the amount of SNAP/Double Up Bucks received and had to amend their contract with Nourish Colorado — from $5,000 to $7,000.
This year’s contract is set at $7,000, half of which is reimbursed up front with an end of year settlement. The program is marketed heavily countywide and in the school districts’ summer nutrition program.
“It’s a good problem to have for both the vendors and the folks utilizing the benefits,” she said.
How to check out what’s new at the market each week
Greeley’s Summer Market is open every Saturday at the Union Pacific Depot | 902 7th Ave. in Greeley | 8 a.m. to noon