According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, approximately 44 million acres are used for agricultural operations in Nebraska. The farmers markets in the state are bringing healthy and nutritious food straight to the community, with activities and marketing targeted toward engagement with younger people.
Omaha Farmers Market
Almost 100 years ago, Omaha’s “City Market” was held on the corner of 11th and Jackson Street. Vendors sold fruits, vegetables, herbs, and honey to local community members until 1964. In 1994, the Omaha Farmers Market was brought back to life 30 years later by Vic Gutman, founder and executive director, at that very spot.
From early May through mid-October, the Old Market Farmers Market — a name harkening back to its historic origins — takes place between 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. every Saturday. In honor of its 30th anniversary last year, Jair Rodriguez Alvarez painted a mural featuring delicious produce.
Photo Courtesy Omaha Farmers Market
In 2005, a second operation was launched in partnership with the Holiday Lights Festival. Although launched in the Old Market, the Holiday Market now takes place in Askarben Village in collaboration with Physicians Mutual and local television station WOWT. It occupies the first December weekend of every year, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Another expansion came in 2010 when the Aksarben Village Farmers Market (AVFM) launched as another day to buy from local vendors and eat fresh foods. It occurs between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. every Sunday during the same months as the Old Market.
Featuring fruits and vegetables, flowers and plants, meats, eggs, cheeses, baked goods, and crafts and specialty items, it is a “green market” that prioritizes products from farms and nurseries, processed farm products, or value-added products.
As such, counting only season-long vendors and not weekly rotating ones, 29% of vendors on Saturdays and 40% on Sundays sell fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and plants.
The markets have also garnered a lot of positive attention and coverage, with American Farmland Trust naming AVFM the best market in Nebraska for the third year in a row. The Old Market location ranked third on the list.
Photo Courtesy Visit Omaha
These operations do a lot to give back to the community. In 2011, the Omaha Farmers Market became the first in the state to join the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which was accepted at all its locations. In 2018, the Double Food Buck Program became a reality, enabling shoppers to use vouchers to double their dollars, up to $20, to spend on fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Plus, between 2011 and 2018, the Charles Drew Health Center became the first location in Omaha where customers could use WIC coupons to purchase food.
The market also teams up with local community partners. For example, Omaha B-Cycle rents bikes, which the market offers as a green option for getting to and from the operation.
Meanwhile, Omaha Sprouts is a sustainable gardening organization that teaches cooking, gardening, and preservation techniques to people of all ages.
No More Empty Pots seeks to enhance food security and economic resilience by offering a Micro Market that supports a value chain of local products, plus a science internship program, a culinary certificate program, and an entrepreneurial training program.
The market places a lot of emphasis on its staff, as well. On social media, the operation consistently highlights their hard work and dedication. One post on Facebook highlighted a mother-son duo, with Barb, the lead manager of the Saturday market, accompanied by Zack, who loves “how working the market feels like he’s just hanging out with friends all day!”
Photo Courtesy Omaha Farmers Market
Perhaps most interestingly, the market has used social media to engage with its younger audience. For example, because this year’s opening day landed on May 4, or Star Wars Day in reference to the pun “May the Fourth be with you,” they crafted a themed post calling this year “Episode 31.” For Oct. 3, or Mean Girls Day, another post responded to the classic line from the movie, “On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was” with “It’s the second to last weekend of the Omaha Farmers Market.”
To promote the upcoming Holiday Market, the operation referenced pop star Charli XCX’s release of a deluxe version of her album called “Brat and it’s the same but there’s three more songs so it’s not” with a spin-off of that album cover that read “omaha farmers market and it’s the same but it’s in December and a holiday market so it’s not.”
Photo Courtesy Omaha Farmers Market
Sunday Farmers Market at College View
Meanwhile, The Sunday Farmers Market at College View (SFMCV) is run by a nonprofit focusing on local Nebraska farmers and producers of fresh produce, proteins, pantry staples, and sweet treats. It also has dining options featuring locally produced meals, including Persian food from Daffodil Mediterranean Cuisine and Catering, Filipino food from Manila Bay Catering and Events, or Greek food from The Parthenon Taverna. Makers of lifestyle products “that complement you” also sell their wares, including fresh lavender from Sleepy Bees Lavender Farm or textiles dyed with locally grown or foraged plants from Lesly Darling Fiber.
None of this existed in 2005 when Kevin Loth and Charuth van Beuzekom from ShadowBrook Farm and Jim Caruso from Caruso-Rozzano Farms saw the need for a Sunday market for farmers living near Lincoln. The result was the Old Cheney Road Farmers’ Market. Time brought significant changes and developments, with the operation achieving 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2008 so that it could operate using donations.
About a decade later, in 2018, came a name change and a move to College View, where it now runs from late April through early November on Sundays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Additionally, SFMCV now hosts an Indoor Holiday Harvest Market for two weekends in November and two weekends in December to help community members shop for holiday meals. However, the mission to ensure access to “high-quality, fresh food produced with integrity by local family farmers and producers” remains the same.
Photo Courtesy Sunday Farmers’ Market at College View
A lot of SFMCV’s programming targets or is in response to the needs of young people. The market also puts a lot of effort into hosting various events and classes that promote healthy lifestyles. Most Sundays at 10 a.m., a wellness activity takes place on the green. These include yoga classes that help attendees balance their bodies and minds, mindful meditation classes that promote emotional health and help regulate anxiety and stress, or even sound baths that help people “let go” and just “do nothing.” Plus, Chef Demos explains how to use local items from the farmers market to make a meal at home.
Additionally, SFMCV places a huge emphasis on sustainability. For example, community members can bring their food waste weekly to have it composted.
The operation also recruited volunteers who care about recycling, called “bin buddies,” to help with those efforts at the market. Volunteers from the Nebraska Master Gardener Program, who are trained by University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension employees, usually occupy a booth to answer gardening and horticulture questions.
Some weekends feature special one-off appearances, too. To celebrate the arrival of May on May Day, customers could bring recycled containers to create makeshift flower baskets together. In August, in the face of the imminent return of school season, vendor Bright Hope Family Farm featured back-to-school specials for kids. It also gave administrators, staff, and teachers an additional $1 off locally grown flowers.
Photo Courtesy Sunday Farmers’ Market at College View
Here, too, marketing is geared toward what works on social media. When a replacement was needed to lead a yoga or other wellness activity for one week, SFMCV posted a bunch of pictures of dogs to attract attention because a “yoga pic is deep in the photos.”
Photo Courtesy Sunday Farmers’ Market at College View
Papillion Farmers Market
Finally, run by the Papillion Recreation Department, the Papillion Farmers Market is held on Wednesday evenings from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. between late May and mid-August in Papillion City Park. Vendors bring fresh produce, baked goods, organic soaps, and meals, including barbecue and enchiladas. The market explains that these local entrepreneurs grew or made each product they sell, and customers’ money goes directly back to them.
The operation also takes environmental initiatives seriously, for example, by encouraging shoppers to bring a canvas bag or basket from home.
Throughout the season, the city’s recreation department even hands out free bags at the Recreation Tent. It also provides an online glossary of terms that community members can familiarize themselves with before heading to the market, including organic, free-range, and hormone-free.
Shopping at the market is a community experience shared by neighbors, friends, and family members. The Summer Stomp is one activity held in conjunction with a July market day, featuring activities for children in addition to the operation’s typical offerings.
One of the innovative ways in which the Parks and Recreation Department has sought to engage with the community is through an initiative called “Where In Parks and Rec is Pappy?” The department takes photos of Pappy, its inflatable squirrel mascot, and encourages its followers to find his location. By engaging with the public in fun and innovative ways, the market draws attention to the local producers doing good for their community.
Photo Courtesy City of Papillion Parks and Recreation
