From melons to chow chow, there’s something for everyone
The farmers-market market is inundated. In my research, I found almost twenty active farmers markets; more are popping up as quickly as this season’s crops. According to the Farmers Markets Coalition, the number of markets has more than doubled over the past decade.
I am a first generation farmer who is finding her way between Green Acres and Roseanne. Growing up, I was allowed to drink soda for breakfast only if it was fruit flavored like grape or orange because then, it had fruit in it. But nowadays, I am discovering a healthy balance of slow food for a fast-moving gal’s never-home-on-the-range lifestyle. Incorporating farmers markets is key to getting away from processed bags of tricks and bottles of sugar water.
The Way We Were
The Curb Market was not the first farmers market in Chattanooga but it was extremely successful and lasted almost fifty years. The Curb Market started in 1957 and was around until the late 1990’s. The products there were organic before organic was a thing. The police department now occupies the space on 11th St. where The Curb Market was located, but the memories of that market still hold place in the hearts of generations.
Those who remember The Curb Market describe it as a wonderful place to get local produce from trusted farmers as well as learn and make friends. Some folks mentioned the regularly occurring characters like Bill Hales from Howard Woods Produce, also known as the “Banana Man”.
Roy Jones of Jones Farm, known to many as the “Strawberry Man” at the Main St. Farmers Market, worked the Curb Market when he was fourteen years old and used to sell melons, corn, and berries.
“Farmers would arrive at three in the morning, sleep in their truck, and then start selling when the people showed up,” he recalled fondly.
Different people want different things from a farmers market. Some folks only want to get their weekly grocery shopping done. Some want to browse local goods made with love, whether digestible or fashionable creations. There are so many great markets around here that I couldn’t cover them all.
I would not be doing my job if I didn’t mention the area’s oldest active farmers market, Sunday Chattanooga Market at First Tennessee Pavilion, which is also the largest market. However, it is a different experience than the smaller food-based markets, and I want to take this opportunity to highlight the small but mighty.
Taking Stock Of Smaller Markets
The Main St. Farmers Market (MSFM) celebrated their tenth year last week and, although they have changed locations, their mission remains strong: “to inspire healthy, environmentally responsible lifestyles by fostering relationships within the local food community.”
With almost thirty vendors and no craft vendors, the MSFM is ideal for someone looking to get all their grocery shopping done. Eggs, beef, pork, chicken, rabbit, goat or cow cheese, goat or cow milk, coffee, kombucha, herbs, mushrooms, veggies, and fruits are all available. All the vendors are inspected by a board of directors who ensure high quality, sustainable product is being created in an environmentally friendly way and coming directly from the vendor.
A decade ago, Bill and Miriam Keener of Sequatchie Cove Farm started the MSFM with Trae Moore in the Niedlov’s parking lot.
“There had been many markets before that came and went, but this was going to be a farmer-run market and it was going to last,” Miriam said as she explained how the MSFM grew from their CSA, which stands for community supported agriculture and is a program that connects farmers and customers.
A new relationship that has grown outside the lot of the MSFM is with their Chestnut St. neighbor, Chattanooga Brewing Company, which has started “MSFM Monthly Features”. This month, try the cheese plate made with a variety of cheeses from Sequatchie Cove Creamery and topped with Spring Creek Veggies microgreens.
Chattanooga Brewing also shows their love to fellow MSFM supporters by giving a free pint to every customer every Wednesday. Simply show your purchase to the MSFM info booth and receive a beer ticket, then show that ticket to the folks at Chattanooga Brewing and your drink is on them. This offer is only valid on Wednesdays after the MSFM opens at 4 o’clock.
Just as farmers work in seasons, the MSFM hosts four annual events; the next one is August 7th for National Farmers Market Week. There will be live music, a kids’ booth, food trucks, a massage therapist, and other surprises. If you’re interested in becoming a vendor or sponsor, playing music, or volunteering at any of the Main St. Farmers Markets, email mainstfarmersmarket@gmail.com
This year, the St. Albans Hixson Market celebrates their ninth season on a nicely shaded, grassy knoll. Setting up on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon, their vendors offer grass-fed beef and pork, eggs, local honey, various fruits and vegetables, herb plants, microgreens, spice rubs, barbecue sauce, and canned goods like jellies and chow chow.
Unlike Main St. Farmers Market, St. Albans allows craft vendors. Market manager since its inception, Dee Clark said, “Over the years we have had handmade baskets, wood pens, cutting boards, and right now we have stained glass and hand-carved cooking utensils.”
They also welcome nonprofits and have partnered with Hixson High School FFA and a local pet rescue in the past.
On the last Saturday of every month, St. Albans hosts a free pancake breakfast and, on the first Saturday of the month, a Hamilton County Master Gardener leads a garden talk. This garden talk coincides with their revamped community garden co-op program. On the first Saturday of the month, the co-op members get a free Master Gardener lesson, then work the gardens together to reap the rewards of teamwork.
To inquire about the community garden co-op, email stalbans.hixson@gmail.com and to inquire about being a vendor, email stalbansmarket@gmail.com
Companies like nurseries and hardware stores have been smart to capitalize on the trend of farmers markets and provide their outdoor-oriented customers with an all-encompassing agricultural experience. The Ooltewah Nursery has hosted the Ooltewah Farmers Market since 2013 and provides farm fresh goodies to an area that has almost a dozen fast food restaurants in less than three miles.
The Oakbrook Market is a brand-new market hosted by True Value Hardware and is conveniently located just north of the Georgia line, on East Brainerd Road in Ooltewah. Barnyard Feed & Seed in Flintstone has also grown themselves a farmers market on-site to offer fresh produce that their clientele is craving.
Going The Distance
Like customers, farmers markets have different needs. What is considered local to one may not be local to others. Some markets allow regional vendors from up to 250 miles away and other markets want to remain as local as possible, so they cap vendors at 100 miles. I joke that I consider local to be when I know whose hair is in it. Not to say that there is hair in my purchases but if there was, I would be okay because I know exactly who it came from.
With that being said, you have to figure out how far you are willing to travel to access local products and support small businesses. I am really trying to not purchase things at the store but this is a challenge. Like, where do I get my peanut butter and limes from? I realized that if I missed my weekly farmers market then I had to find other ways to get my soaps, milk, and coffee and I learned what I can live without. Making the consistent effort to attend my weekly market has taken about six months and two times of running out of coffee.
Never again.
Attending farmers markets is not an easy lifestyle change for the customer and it is not an easy gig for the vendors either. Customers accustomed to round-the-clock instant gratification through their window or app have to make a commitment to get out and support local.
Location and hours of markets are not always convenient to your routine, so then how does one still support local? You can find a CSA and sign up for a farm’s weekly or biweekly offerings. Another way is to shop for people in your circle; I have a friend who attends a market I have to miss each week and, with some simple guidelines like “nothing spicy”, I give her $15 to get me a few things. Last week, she surprised me with a Brainerd Farmers Market t-shirt.
Weather will dampen any market-goer’s experience but, according to the Farmers Market Coalition, vendors depend on the market for 25 percent of their income and therefore will set up during inclement weather. The nastiest days are the most important ones to do your due diligence to support those who have braved the not-so-ideal weather to provide you with a more ideal, less processed life.
Local Farmers Markets
TUESDAY
Lookout Farmers Market at East Brainerd, 4–7 p.m.
Oakbrook Farmers Market, 3–6 p.m.
Lookout Farmers Market at Hixson CHI Memorial (3rd Tues.), 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Lookout Farmers Market at Red Bank, 4–7 p.m.
Main St. Farmers Market, 4–6 p.m.
Lookout Farmers Market at Downtown CHI Memorial Hospital, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
Collegedale Market, 4–6 p.m.
THURSDAY
Signal Mtn. Farmers Market, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
Ooltewah Farmers Market, 3–6 p.m.
Miller Park Farmers Market, 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Lookout Farmers Market at Chattanooga Choo Choo (1st Thurs.), 6–9 p.m.
FRIDAY
Chattanooga Market at Erlanger, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
Chattanooga River Market, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
St. Alban’s Hixson Market, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Brainerd Farmers Market, 10 a.m.–noon
Barnyard Market, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
West Village Market, 10 a.m.–1 p.m.
SUNDAY
Collegedale Market, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Chattanooga Market, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.