Every Saturday I hustle out of bed first thing in the morning. I get up before the sun and make my way to the St. Paul Farmers Market. I take the METRO Green Line to the market and I like to get there when there’s still a chill in the air — Saturdays in October at the farmers market are my favorite tradition.
Recently, the St. Paul Farmers Market announced that it would be expanding its offerings. The longstanding farmers market has opened a year-round indoor market at the former Black Dog Cafe, located at 308 Prince Street. The soft opening was held on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. All vendors at the new indoor market in Lowertown, open Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., are members of the same St. Paul Growers Association that manages the outdoor market. The outdoor market will remain unchanged — the new market is meant to just provide a new opportunity for local growers and farmers to share and sell what they grow.
“In the old days, you could make your living on the farm. Now, just about everybody’s got to do something more, and this gives them more opportunity to do that. Rather than being out in the cold where your stuff is freezing, you can be in here,” said Jake Jordan, St. Paul Growers Association board member, in an article published by the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
The farmers market — indoors and outdoors — is right off the METRO Green Line. Folks can get off in front of Union Depot and walk the block down the streets. For older Minnesotans like myself, it’s easy to get to and an affordable and accessible way to spend a Saturday (or Sunday) morning. It’s a powerful relationship, in my mind, between sustainable transportation and sustainable food — our food and our public transit become third places, part of our public commons.
There’s no shortage of resources that speak to the importance of farmers markets and just as many that talk about farmers markets as a useful and productive land use opportunity. But I have to say — I’ve visited farmers markets in over a dozen states in this country and even several internationally — and (while I am definitely biased) I do think our St. Paul Farmers Market is better than the rest.
At the farmers market, I know the gentleman who sells my honey. Dale’s been doing this for decades. This summer I’m experimenting with honey-fermented lemons! I know so many Hmong elders — women and men who I otherwise might not have a chance to speak with or get to know — who have done so much for our local growing economy. I tried radish microgreens for the first time this summer! I know the man who sells me my tomatoes every week. They are always the perfect size — not too big, not too small. Every Saturday, I make the choice between pierogies or momos. I tend to prefer pierogis in the summer heat, but vegetable momos are perfect for chillier weather. I love to hear the live music and every autumn I commit to learning a new dish with an ingredient I’ve never cooked with before.
I think it’s easy to think about land use as streets and highways and buses and trains, but I have come to realize that land use is also about community and who has access to our streets and who feels safe walking around the neighborhood. In a lot of ways I think we’re blessed to have the entire St. Paul Farmers Market network.
Urban planners, public health folks, and community organizers — for starters — all seem to love farmers markets. Markets are hubs for food access, for disrupting the mega food supply chains that seem to break down regularly, for helping us easily put money into our local food economies, for activating civic engagement, and for connecting communities across the various divides.
The St. Paul Farmers Market is open year-round. The indoor and outdoor markets will be closed Nov. 29 and Nov. 30. For the remaining Saturdays in November, the outdoor market will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The indoor market in Lowertown is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Indoor markets will also be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at various Bachman’s on a rotating schedule in Apple Valley (7955 150th St W), Maplewood (2600 White Bear Ave North), and Fridley (8200 University Ave. NE).
