Every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m., the parking lot across from First United Methodist Church on Jackson Street bustles with the activity of the Alexandria Farmers Market .
And starting next Tuesday (Sept. 3) it will be bustling with even more activity as it prepares to celebrate its 10-year anniversary at each market throughout September, with several special activities planned for each Tuesday of the month.
Just about anything you can find in a grocery store, you'll find at the Alexandria Farmers Market, said Bahia Nightengale, executive director for Farm and Food at Louisiana Central, the regional economic development organization.
Bridgette Guillory, owner of Garden District Soapery and a market vendor, loves that the market is where the community comes together to shop local from small Louisiana owned family businesses made up of farmers and artisans.
“Vegetables, fruits, meats, jellies, honey, pecans, cakes, mushrooms, meat pies, peanut and pecan butters, tamales, sweets, and even artisan soaps, clean burning candles, and toxin free eau de parfums, all created and processed by our own hands, homes and hearts,” she said. “We have so much to offer. You will not be disappointed.”
Sarah Elizabeth Bernard, owner of BRANCHOFF, said being a vendor from the very beginning has been a blessing and has watched the market grow from four vendors to what it is now. BRANCHOFF sells body care products.
“We have gone through so much together in the last 10 years, as individuals, and as a market,” she said. “I believe it's because we are a family that we pushed through. Rain or shine, we show up for each other and for our customers whether you are a 10-year patron or that day is your first time.”
Val and Wayne Denley are regular customers of the market.
“Our local farmers market is very friendly and many vendors frequently offer samples to help you decide on a purchase,” Val said about why they shop there.
“All the produce is healthy, and very often you will try something that you cannot find in the grocery store,” Wayne said.
Meet the people who source your food, products
Customers can talk to the vendors and ask them questions about the food or goods they are selling.
"Nowhere else is somebody going to have a chance to be educated by the person that's producing their food,” Nightengale said. “No one knows more about their food than the person that's growing it.”
“I like knowing where my food comes from,” said Susan Dukes, who shops at the market each week. “I like knowing that it is grown by local small farmers and not Big Business. It is better for the environment because the produce has not been trucked across the country or even shipped from foreign lands."
Some customers might want certified organic. And there is an Alexandria vendor who sells it. Jubilee Justice is the only certified organic specialty crop producer in this area, Nightengale said.
“We've got variety in meat. There's a choice, and it's grass fed, or your grain finished. They're they're both great products and they both cater to different customers,” said Chris Richmond, vendor and market specialist.
What’s missing is a dairy vendor. Ever since Belmont dairy producer Flowing Hills Creamery closed earlier in the year, Nightengale said they haven’t had any luck finding a dairy vendor but continue to look for one.
“Louisiana doesn’t have a thriving dairy industry," she said.
The market continues to attract vendors from around the state like bread bakers Boscoyo Baking Co., from Lafayette and Central Cajun House from Fifth Ward.
“I feel so lucky to have not only one really good baker, but two,” Richmond said. This gives customers a choice when it comes to handcrafted breads.
Products should have link to Louisiana agriculture
The market tries to get vendors whose products have a strong link to Louisiana agriculture.
“So, ingredients or components of your product should be Louisiana grown, harvested, raised or produced,” said Nightengale.
One of their vendors is Jessie Noakes, who owns and operates the Creamline Essentials. She raises goats and uses their milk as a primary ingredient in the body care products she makes.
“We prefer that the vendors are the people that grew it, made it, created it, harvested it because that's what the customers expect at a farmers market,” Nightengale said.
“Our farmers market gives the local farmers a viable place to sell their produce so that they can make a profit and stay in business,” said Dukes. “And it gives the public access to fresh, local food.”
Many vendors are good at sourcing ingredients from each other to use in their products, Richmond said. That’s something the market staff encourages, Nightengale said.
Richmond is from Leesville and is one of the vendors as well, operating Artemis Gourmet Mushrooms.
At the end of the market, Richmond likes all the “horse trading” that goes on among the vendors who use each others products. The bond between them is what makes the market special.
New project provides more produce
One of their newest projects is the community produce table spearheaded by Iriel Edwards, market specialist at Louisiana Central.
“It's essentially a consignment option at the farmers market for gardeners to very small farmers, beginner farmers, seasonal farmers who might not be able to commit to being a full vendor at the market,” Edwards said. The market staff sells their products on their behalf.
The goal of the table is to make more produce available to the community.
“We’ve been able to have more fruit available, which is great for our Kids Club program, which essentially gives kids $5 to spend on fruits and veggies,” she said. “So having things like blueberries and muscadines in the quantity that we have them is very new.”
“Fruit is just an easy gateway food into healthy eating for children and adults,” Nightengale said.
They even have tropical fruit like dragon fruit, bitter melons and papaya — all grown locally. The non-traditional fruits have proven popular with customers, she said.
"There's no minimum requirement for the for the table,” Edwards said. “So it's a really perfect entry point for people who might want to provide produce for the community but don't really know how to navigate that space or if they have enough to really have any influence in that way.”
“Locally grown food is healthier because it is in season, the farmers use little or no pesticides and other chemicals, it is not genetically modified, it’s fresher and it tastes better,” Dukes said.
Kids Club introduces children to healthy eating
The Kids Club program gives the first 100 children who show up at the market $5 each to spend on fruits and vegetables, Richmond said.
"A lot of our vendors, they know the Kids Club is coming, so they try to have a $5 item of fruit or vegetables that the kids can buy,” he said. “And they can also get seeds or plants that bear fruit or vegetables.”
The program started in 2016 and was the first nutrition access program they did in partnership with Market Umbrella, which helped them start the program, Nightengale said.
“We write grants to fund the program and right now it is sponsored by Healthy Blue,” she said.
This program is important because it encourages healthy eating for families and teaches children how to shop for healthy foods, Nightengale said. Children who choose their food are more likely to try new fruits and vegetables.
“We've watched kids grow up at the farmers market in the last 10 years,” she said. “There are kids who we've seen grow up all the way through high school. And they go off to college. Now they visit on holidays,”
In 2018 the market became a Snap authorized retailer and has a program that matches the money spent on the snap card.
“If people process their SNAP card for $10, we can turn it into $20. And so we write grants to fund all of those matching programs,” Nightengale said.
Since the market first started out at the corner of Jackson and Texas Avenue, the market has grown each year with visitors coming from 25 to 30 parishes each week. This past June, they saw more than 1,000 people at one market, whereas in their early years, good attendance would have been about 100 people.
Nightengale said the market excels at establishing the relationships between customers and vendors.
“I always feel like I'm hanging out with my community when I'm at the market,” she said.
There is a very real quality of life element to have farmers markets in communities, said Jim Clinton, Louisiana Central president and CEO.
“There had been multiple well-intended efforts to create a farmers market in the Alexandria metropolitan area, but none had proved sustainable,” he said. “Our Board of Directors was willing to make the commitment to engage actively in the food and farm arena and that provided the basis for opening this decade's iteration of the Alexandria Farmers Market.”
The region lost much of its ability to have fresh-grown food readily available when agriculture moved away from small farms, he said. Successful farmers markets around the country have been able to fill this gap.
Louisiana farmers, Nightengale said, are the backbone of their market.
“I feel we should all support our local farmers. If we don’t, we won’t have them anymore and we will be totally reliant on big business for our foods,” Dukes said.
Bernard said the market is more than a gathering of people there to sell goods.
"It's an exchange of energy. Does that sound quacky? You wouldn't think so if you've ever been to an Alexandria Farmers Market,” she said.
"It's an amazing accomplishment, and we're very proud of the vendors and the community for supporting it for 10 years," Nightengale said.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Customer, vendor bonds key ingredient of Alexandria Farmers Market's success
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