The locavore lifestyle has grown in popularity in recent years, and the benefits of eating fresh, locally grown foods are plenty. In order to support the growing demand for produce, farmer’s markets are cropping up (pun intended) throughout the Twin Cities metro area. Edina’s own market is now open at Centennial Lakes Park for the third consecutive year. Stop by this month, get to know the farmers and sample produce from some of the greatest gardens around.
Origins
For years, members of the community requested that a farmer’s market open in Edina. The wait ended in 2010, when Tom Shirley, Centennial Lakes Park Manager, assembled 25 vendors to open the initial Centennial Lakes Farmer’s Market.
“The Bloomington/Edina/Richfield SHIP [Statewide Health Improvement Program] had a grant at that time to help communities start farmer’s markets, and we were happy to partner with them in doing so,” explains Shirley.
Shirley says that 35 vendors were involved in last year’s market, and he is pleased to announce the same number returned this year.
Peter Marshall, a local farmer who has been involved with the market from the beginning, says he was initially attracted to the market because of the community and location. “It’s a park like none other, even in the winter, and so centrally located.”
He credits Shirley and his assistant Laura Knollmaier for much of the success. “Tom is a big asset. He’s a really nice guy and he always comes with a smile,” says Marshall, adding that he admires his work ethic. “He runs a tight ship and does an excellent job keeping things tidy.”
The market ran for 14 weeks the first year, and will run for 16 weeks this year. Shirley says he enlists the help of fulltime park staff to set up the market and select vendors from the applicant pool. “We start taking applications for vendors in mid-February of each season, and choose the vendor mix that is best suited for the available market spaces.”
Living the Legacy
For many of the vendors, farming has been their family’s lifestyle for over a century. Terry Picha, of Picha Farms in Eden Prairie, says his family has been farming for four generations.
His earliest memories of selling produce were at the farmer’s market in downtown Minneapolis. “I first appeared there in 1953 as a young kid with my grandfather,” he recalls. “But our family has been farming since 1903.”
Picha runs the farm with his wife, Kathy, and their two children, Rob and Tammy, help them by working at various markets each year.
Peter Marshall has farming in his veins, too. “I grew up on a farm in Eden Prairie. There were nine in our family, and about half of us are still in agriculture. I think it’s in our blood.”
Marshall’s interest in farmer’s markets spans back to the example set by his great uncle and grandparents. “They started at the market [downtown Minneapolis] in 1910,” he says. “They used to bring all of their produce down there and sell it to the ‘ma and pa’ grocers until about the 1960s or ’70s.”
Marshall and his wife own Peter’s Pumpkins and Carmen’s Corn, based in Shakopee (peterspumpkins.com). Their top-selling items may have something to do with their aptly named business. “I think we sell more pumpkins and corn than anything else! Maybe if my name was Tom it would be tomatoes,” he jokes.
Strengthening Community Ties
Creating caring relationships is among the top priorities for Marshall and Picha. They often have returning customers, and have formed meaningful ties with those who frequent their market spaces. “I would imagine we see anywhere from 150 to 200 customers on a very busy day,” says Picha.
Marshall agrees. “To me, a lot of the markets are not just about selling the produce, but about the relationships between the consumer and the farmer,” he says. “My wife and I consider our customers to be our friends.”
Between offering farming and gardening tips to suggesting ways to incorporate fresh food into everyday cooking, the farmers let their true expertise shine.
Marshall and his wife even welcome visitors to their farm. “The two most important things to me are the love of farming and taking care of my customers,” he says.
Food, Glorious Food
“I would say we grow almost everything you can grow in Minnesota, from apples to zucchini. We even have chickens, and if we had more land, I’d love to do cattle,” says Marshall, adding that he has also has two steers at a neighbor’s farm.
All the food at the market is picked the same day or just one day prior to the market, and several foods are unique to the market.
“That’s what attracts people … when you have something different that you can’t find at a grocery store,” says Marshall. “Some of the stuff you see at the farmer’s market is above and beyond what you could ever find in a store.”
Marshall tries to grow something new each year. What’s this year’s venture? Artichokes, grown in the greenhouse, and Scorpion red peppers from Trinidad, inspired by his Peruvian wife who plans to use them to season their food. “We might have to put a disclaimer on that one,” he says with a chuckle.
Among his other offerings at the market are pumpkins, tomatoes, peppers, heirloom cucumbers, corn, beets, four varieties of beans and kohlrabi.
The selection at the Picha Farms stand is just as rich. While they have several items in common with Marshall, like tomatoes, peppers and kohlrabi, Picha also sells eggplant, squash, a variety of cherry tomatoes and lettuce. As if the list weren’t long enough, customers can also find an assortment of fruits, including raspberries (purple, red and black), strawberries, cantaloupe, muskmelon and icebox watermelon.
Picha says his raspberries are a customer favorite, although his top choice is the melons. This year he also started growing day-neutral strawberries, which he can pick from June through October.
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Don’t miss the chance to bring tasty foods straight from the farm to your dinner table. The 2012 Centennial Lakes Farmers Market runs from 4-7 p.m. through September 27. Centennial Lakes Park, 7499 France Avenue; 952.833.9582; ci.edina.mn.us, centenniallakespark.com
