Market is more than produce
Many college students look into the refrigerator only to find some leftover Top Ramen and cold pizza – the more creative student might actually find what once resembled vegetables. Many students are on a tight budget of both money and time – which can make it difficult to eat and live healthy.
Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market offers one solution. It provides a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, fresh from the garden.
The market is held weekly on Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon at the Garff Wayside Park between Main Street and 100 East (behind Tony Roma’s).
This event has been going on since Mothers’ Day and will hopefully continue until mid-October said Penny Trinca, market organizer. However, the last day may depend on weather.
This is not your typical farmers’ market. Besides fresh fruit and vegetables, anything “homegrown, homemade and handmade” is sold there. Everything from fresh breads to crafts can be found displayed, and these items are usually found cheaper here than at the grocery store, Trinca said.
Not only is there the produce, but also entertainment and breakfast. They feature live music from Bridgerland Folk and fresh omelets. On Sept. 15 they will have a native plant demonstration, she said.
Vendors from anywhere are invited to attend. Volker’s Bakery makes the weekly trek from Kamas, Utah.
“We get up early to drive here after spending all night baking,” said Doug Fryer, a Volker employee.
The Volker’s Bakery, owned by Leabon Volker, features fresh bread made from recipes passed down from Volker’s Austrian father and grandfather, Fryer said.
“The start we use for some of the sour breads is 95 years old,” he said.
Some of the breads they make are Tuscan white, sun-dried tomato and Bavarian stollen.
“The stollen is the great-grandfather of the fruitcake, before it got bad,” Fryer said.
Virginia Nelson of Logan said she has been selling her goods here since the first year of the market in 1984. She sells everything she grows.
Nelson said her booth displays fresh flowers and produce of many varieties. She said she does very well in selling, but it is not the only reason to do it.
“You’re doing it because you enjoy it,” she said.
Some of the items available at the market include squash, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, eggs, flowers, handmade soaps, jewelry and much more, Trinca said.
“Most of us [the vendors] just garden in our backyard,” Nelson said.
Those interested in selling goods at the market, can bring produce down for $1, but crafts need approval, Trinca said.