While you can get your favorite fresh produce and unique artisan crafts at Minnesota’s farmers markets, they offer so much more than that. They serve as community hubs, providing programming for people of all ages to learn about the food they eat, keep the local environment clean and healthy, and give back to one another.
Hopkins Farmers Market
The Hopkins Farmers Market is a testament to what Minnesota’s farmers markets can be. In 1986, a group of farmers and growers launched the operation so they could have a permanent location to sell their produce to the residents of Hopkins and other nearby areas.
The original logo with a prominently displayed rooster, designed by a past vendor named Geoff Nash, is still located on a sign in front of the market. The operation is now held outdoors on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. until noon between mid-June and the end of October before moving inside the Hopkins Activity Center in November for its Winter market.
Photo Courtesy Hopkins Farmers Market
The market also features various vendors, ranging across locally grown fruits and vegetables, delicious foods and treats from vendors and food trucks, flowers and plants, and artisanal crafts and personal care items. For example, Dancing Gnome Farm brings 40 varieties of its organically grown vegetables, and second-generation “family BEEsiness” Bee Happy Honey brings locally produced raw honey. Ahead of opening day, Hopkins Farmers Market even posted promotional vendor spotlights on social media.
The marketplace also ensures shoppers know exactly what types of fresh produce will be available via a chart produced by Minnesota Grown that highlights the average season of each.
For example, Rhubarb has an average season that only lasts from May through June, while potatoes can be found at the market until December.
Photo Courtesy Dancing Gnome Farm
Community guests are also heavily featured in the market’s highlights. Some, like family art studio ARTrageous Adventures, bring products and activities like DIY kits that “connect people to themselves, their community, and the diversity of the world.” Some give back to the community, like the Little Charity Book Truck, a nonprofit mobile bookstore that donates every dollar made to local charities focused on youth, or Be SMART, a nonprofit that raises awareness about responsible behavior around and storing firearms to prevent child gun deaths.
Others are focused on managing and preserving local land and water resources, such as the Three Rivers Park District or the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District, the latter of which handed out pamphlets about how to install native plantings at home. The City of Hopkins even appeared in September to raise awareness about water efficiency rebates and the Hopkins Climate Solutions Fund, which offers incentives to install clean energy systems.
Photo Courtesy Little Charity Book Truck
The market’s Power of Produce Kids’ Club is perhaps its most notable feature. The free incentive program, targeted at kids between the ages of 4 and 17, comes courtesy of a partnership with the Power of Produce (PoP) Club.
Every time these children check in, they receive a $2 token that can be used to buy fresh fruits, vegetables, or food-bearing plants. The program seeks to inspire a whole generation of healthy eaters. This year, the program was sponsored by the Osseo Lions Club, which focuses on supporting local organizations making an impact, particularly on young people.
Additionally, the operation hosts a number of special events. Once a month, a “Family Day” features activities, games, and prizes suitable for the whole family.
July saw the Annual Hopkins Raspberry Festival held for the 90th time. It was an affair to remember, featuring 200 vendors, the Grande Day Parade, a one- or five-mile Raspberry run, and beanbag, pickleball, and softball tournaments. A blood drive rewarded donors with a free half pint of raspberries and a free treat from Amy’s Cupcake Shoppe.
Meanwhile, purchases of physical Raspberry buttons went to the ICA Food Shelf, and sales of physical buttons went to ResourceWest, a nonprofit providing social services and youth programs for enhanced stability. Plus, the Raspberry Royalty Leadership Program, which focused on personal growth for young women, crowned a new queen and princesses who participated in a “Royal Goosechase” using a phone app.
Photo Courtesy The Hopkins Raspberry Festival
Sartell Farmers Market
The Sartell Farmers Market was not established until 2011, but it serves just as essential of a function for Sartell. It features produce from growers and producers within 40 miles of the city and items like grass-fed beef, fresh-water fish, and free-range eggs.
Honey products come from animals raised by vendors, and sauces, salsas, syrups, breads, and baked goods are prepared from scratch — even caramel corn is available!
The operation provides locals with access to food and crafts practically all year round, with a summer market open from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. on Mondays between May and mid-October in the parking lot of Scheel’s athletic complex and a winter operation open from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the first Saturday of every month between November and April inside Sartell City Hall. It also serves as a great community gathering place, where locals are encouraged to grill and soak up the sun.
Some of its regular vendors include Oak Park Farm, whose goal is to grow produce and animals “with nature’s help, not despite nature,” and Laura the Cookie Lady, who developed a love for baking cookies when her youngest child was born.
Photo Courtesy Laura the Cookie Lady LLC
One of the most relevant initiatives in which the market participates is the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. Running from June through October, the program sees vendors posting signs outside their tents to indicate their participation. Specifically, shoppers participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) or the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program can use their coupons to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables.
The market also gives back to the local community in numerous other ways. For example, when it set its 2019 mission to “form a stronger connection with our community,” it partnered with a local student from Sartell High School to design its new logo. Additionally, when a dog went missing last year, the operation posted information on its Facebook page to help raise awareness and increase the chances of finding him.
Photo Courtesy Sartell Farmers Market
Minneapolis Farmers Market
The Minneapolis Farmers Market has been on a mission “to bring goodness to our community all year round” since its founding in 1876. However, the three signature red sheds that now cover the market were not introduced until 1937, when it moved into its current location. Now, it is open between May and October on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The Central Minnesota Vegetable Growers Association (CMVGA) manages and operates the market. More than 100 members bring their fruits and vegetables every week.
These members employ sustainable practices like hydroponics and regenerative agriculture, while the association helps them improve their production methods through partnerships with the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
As Minnesota’s biggest farmer- or producer-managed market, it builds community over a “shared love of food” between residents and local growers. It offers a unique opportunity for the latter to teach the former about where their food came from and how it was treated and prepared, empowering people to build connections with their food. It is all in service of the market’s mission to “bring goodness to our community all year round!” It also encourages the community to take care of itself, for example, by bringing their reusable shopping bags to shop.
Photo Courtesy Minneapolis Farmers Market
It makes sense that its celebration for National Farmers Market Week is always a big affair. In 2022, the market produced a two-minute recap video to celebrate achieving its goals to uplift the farmers, thank the operators, celebrate its long history and representation of diverse cultures, and share good products and good times with the community. This year, it hosted a pancake social on Sunday morning — featuring zucchini fritters — to thank everyone for their continuous support.
In fact, the market has even used technology to reach its community. A podcast called “Farm to Market” was launched in 2022 to deepen the vendor-community relationship even more.
For example, it gave listeners a glimpse into the lives of Terry Picha, owner of Picha Greenhouse and Farms, and Chef Tammy Wong, owner of Rainbow Chinese Restaurant, both of whom are still vendors.
The market also uses activities to reach its community members. Meanwhile, a Farmers Markets of Minneapolis Treasure Hunt spanned two weeks, during which community members could find a glittering orange sparkly tomato at the market. By showing pictures of the bedazzled produce and submitting stamped cards, they could win prizes like tote bags, cookbooks, or coupons.
This year, with sponsorship from United Healthcare and Eversharp Kitchen Store, the operation also hosted a series of healthy cooking demos, with the theme “Secrets for Extending Your Farmers Market Harvest,” to show people how to preserve and make the most of their produce. Chef Laura Bonicelli showed attendees how to pickle cucumbers in July and turn summer tomatoes and peaches into sauces and salsas in August. She even led a group in using pasta-rolling machines in September.
Photo Courtesy Minneapolis Farmers Market
A monthly Kids’ Corner Session offered fun experiences throughout the summer and autumn, including story hour, kids’ cooking club, market bingo, painting with produce, and pumpkin decorating.
Fun for the whole family was also on display at this summer’s Pepper Fest, featuring the knowledge of Dr. David Baumler, a local expert. Attendees could also make pepper sauce with vendor Mailor Moua of Mailor Moua Gardens and her daughter or participate in a pepper-eating contest.
Photo Courtesy Minneapolis Farmers Market
