Come n’ Get It at the Duluth Farmer’s Market

Caption: Alex Hamilton raises 50 to 70 chickens on his parent’s hobby farm on Lismore Road in Duluth and sells eggs at the Farmer’s Market. (Photo by Naomi Yaeger-Bischoff)


By Wendy Grethen
Fresh veggies and a whole lot more can be found in the wooden structure at the corner of 14th Ave E. and Third St. The Duluth Farmer’s Market is currently comprised of twenty-two family producers selling their veggies, cheese, chickens, eggs, baking, cut flowers, plants, pickles, maple syrup and other goods. July is the long awaited peak production time here in the Northland and the market is the place to come purchase fresh, locally grown strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peas. The market will run through the end of October and then reopens later in the year for Christmas tree sales.

Come by Wednesday and Saturday mornings anytime between 7 a.m. and noon to support the local growers from St. Louis, Carlton and Lake Counties. The market has been at its current location since 1953 and is still going strong. At the market, you can buy directly from the producers, ask garden or cooking questions, and run into neighbors and friends. Some growers also sell items at the Whole Foods Co-op and at other markets such as the UMD market on Wednesday afternoons. This year there’s a new venture with St. Luke’s Hospital in which fresh produce from the Farmer’s Market will stock the hospital’s salad bar and be components of patients’ meals.

Several festivals are held at the Farmer’s Market throughout the season - you’ll have an opportunity to sample fresh produce and home-made goodies, plus take home some recipes. In August, don’t miss the Raspberry Festival, September has a salsa festival and October is the Cider Press and Pumpkin Festival. Lois Hauffbauer, current chair of the Farmer’s Market, invites people to come for samples and to meet the farmers directly. You’ll taste the difference of the fresh produce.

Deb Shubat, owner of Shubat’s Fruits, is one of the vendors at the Farmer’s Market. She started about six years ago and shared a space with another vendor and eventually began to grow more produce and expanded into her own space. She enjoys the social aspects and the cooperation among the vendors and yes, she is a customer herself purchasing items from fellow vendors or sometimes swapping goods.

She sees the bulk of the customers at the market coming out to pick up pickles, tomatoes or cabbages to stock up for pickling, making salsa, kimchee, or sauerkraut. During peak times some folks line up before 7 a.m. to arrive for the freshest pickings and to get larger quantities. As noon draws near during an open market day, a Second Harvest food shelf worker often comes and asks for produce donation and vendors readily provide a portion of their grown or baked goods.

Most of the producers at the market today are women and many use organic and sustainable practices - feel free to ask if the foods are organic.

Enjoy and support the local growers working with the challenges of the Northland’s weather. Also, contact the Duluth Community Garden program at 722-4583 for more recipes and to rent equipment for canning. Dig into the edible treasures of the Northland.