As we enter the summer months, gardens are being planted, fruit trees are blooming, and people are excited to find their favorite vendors at the Crookston Farmers Market, which opened for the season on Thursday, May 28. The market is open every Thursday from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. in the downtown square on North Ash and Third Streets.
The farmers’ market offers a wide variety of products, from sourdough bread and farm-grown produce to homemade jewelry and crafts. The market continues to grow as more vendors join this season. “There’ll be new vendors that are not able to be there this week, but will be coming in future weeks,” said Farmers Market Organizer Pat Grothe. “Some of them are still in Arizona. In one case, one person is still in school. But there should be a terrific variety this year at the market. Well, there always has been, but even more so this year. We’re filling some of the gaps that we felt we had, and it’s all good.”
Another aspect of the market is the variety and availability of flowers, plants, and produce that might not normally be in season in this climate but are cultivated by local farmers and made available to the public. “You don’t expect tomatoes in June. You don’t expect sweet corn in June. You don’t expect pumpkins in June,” said Farmers Market Organizer Chris Klawitter. “It’s just the people kind of get a little bit closer to realizing how the farm works and how seasons work and seasonal stuff. And it’s a great teaching opportunity because of that.”
The market offers programs to help get products to more people, including accepting EBT and SNAP benefits, as well as the Power of Produce (POP) Program, which provides weekly vouchers for youth ages 18 and under and seniors ages 65 or older to get fresh produce from the market. “Each week, they can get two dollars. You don’t necessarily have to spend it that week. You can save them throughout the season,” explained Klawitter. “However, they have to be spent in the season, so these first few weeks, the produce is going to probably be slim just because that’s the way it works, but they can save them up for tomato season or pumpkin season or whatever it happens to be, whatever they want to do.”
The farmers market will be open every Thursday through the first week of October except during Ox Cart Days in August, when the market moves to Saturday and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
