View full sizeThe convenience, not to mention the ability to talk to the farmers and growers, helps make the market a city staple. By Kiley Kievit
In one corner, you have your tomatoes; in another, your fresh berries. In yet another, there’s fresh-baked bread. In between is everything else you need for a meal, all courtesy of the
.
For the past 100 years, the market has provided the city with the best, freshest produce the area can provide. It’s spent the past 64 years at its current location at 1204 Bank Street. (The Bank Street pavilion got some $75,000-worth of TLC in May, with the City Commission voting to to replace support posts and repave walking areas.)
While it might not always be easy to find a parking spot, market-goers know they can count on finding local goods to tempt the palate and please the eye.
“It’s a great gathering of people,” says Pat Roush, market manager. “All in one place you have farmers, crafters, bakeries, artisans, people that sell meat. You can pretty much get everything you need for a meal, along with the flowers for the table.”
The convenience, not to mention the ability to talk to the farmers and growers, helps make the market a city staple.
“Everybody wants to know their farmer, to know where their stuff is coming from,” she says. “You’re talking to the person that’s making (what you’re buying). People love the freshness.”
To find out if the market is best meeting residents’ needs, a survey about the Kalamazoo Farmers Market will be taking place this summer, according to Mark Polega, parks manager for the City of Kalamazoo. The survey will be paid for with savings and a grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
“Since our market has been around for such a long time, we felt it was time to really study it and see if we’re in the right spot,” Polega says.
In the meantime, it will be business as usual for the market, as the peak summer season arrives.
“There’s a really cool atmosphere in the outdoor market,” Roush says. “I’ve been doing this 10 years now and it just doesn’t get old.”
And neither does the produce.
Chicken a la Otto
The sentiment is simple: Healthy chicken is tasty chicken. For the past 12 years, Gary Otto of Middleville has supplied local farmers markets with fresh chicken that’s hormone- and antibiotic-free — and relatively stress-free.
All of Otto’s chickens are raised on his farm from Day 1. They get fresh, natural food, clean water and aren’t overcrowded — simple acts of respect and decency toward the animals.
“When I started this business I said, ‘If I can do one thing, I’m going to give these birds the room they need,’ ” Otto says.
Coming from generations of poultry farmers, Otto has seen both sides of the coin, from farming the way he was taught by his parents, who learned from their parents, to a stint he had raising turkeys for Sara Lee.
Now with his own farm,
has its own U.S.D.A.-inspected plant right on site. Otto says this helps him ensure the quality of his product.
“That’s job one,” he says. “We’re not interested in being the biggest or making the most money. It’s about having a good, quality product and value that people will want to come back and buy again.”
Though they sell direct from the farm, Otto also sells from four farmers markets in the state. Their biggest success, he says, is the Kalamazoo Farmers Market.
“If it wasn’t for the Kalamazoo Market, we might not still be in business,” he says.
Local farmers markets
- Kalamazoo Farmers Market, 1204 Bank St.
- Otsego Farmers Market, in the Church of God parking lot at the corner of M-89 and Kalamazoo Street
- 100-Mile Market, People’s Food Co-op, 507 Harrison St.
- Allegan Farmers Market, in the parking lot at the corner of Cutler and Water streets
- Richland Farmers Market, at Richland Area Community Center, 9400 East CD Ave.
- Texas Corner Farmers Market, 7110 West Q Ave.
Click through the link for more articles from Your Home, Your Life magazine. Follow Booth Features on Twitter: @BoothFeatures.