Photography by Bill Grant
OK, maybe I’m a bit of a farmer fanboy. During the upcoming growing season, I’ll probably make more than 50 visits to farmers’ markets, hitting close to 20 locations. To me, each market has a distinct personality.
Tower Grove is yoga, dogs, and food trucks, with kids playing in the fountain in front of the pavilion.
The Land of Goshen, in Edwardsville, is a cordoned-off city block just off a classic Main Street—a Norman Rockwell–esque farmers’ market, the way I imagine they were before the advent of supermarkets.
Schlafly Bottleworks hosts a farmers’ market on Wednesday evenings, with beer, music, and a tremendous sense of familiarity among the customers. And there’s plenty of new food-related retail nearby.
Soulard Market is St. Louis. Period. People of all ages, races, and economic levels are drawn to the area’s “original” farmers’ market. Purists sometimes complain that Soulard isn’t a real farmers’ market because it mostly consists of produce brokers selling grapes and oranges and tchotchke vendors selling sunglasses and socks. But hit either of the eastern legs of the H-shaped market and you’ll find good local farmers (with good prices), as well as local cheese, meat, and other commodities.
And then there’s the Ferguson Farmers’ Market. It was the friendliest market in town before “the troubles,” and I daresay that it will reclaim that title as the Ferguson community bounces back. The band will still play at the entrance, EarthDance Farms will still offer some vegetable I’ve never seen before, and breakfast will still be a tamale from La Fuente or an empanada from El Chico.
GOING TO MARKET
Get there at opening for the rare stuff or things that are just coming into season.
Visit a farmers’ markets near closing time for closeout bargains.
Make one full circuit of the market before you buy anything—except the rare stuff.
When you find something that you like, you should get to know the farmer.
As author Michael Pollan says, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
