Community Speaks: Farmers Market Edition

Community+Speaks%3A+Farmers+Market+Edition

September 14, 2017

Every Thursday and Sunday between mid-May and mid-October, downtown Grinnell is host to what the Grinnell Area Chamber of Commerce calls “the best farmers market in central Iowa.” It is a 100 percent producer market, which means that the vendors must grow or produce everything that they sell themselves. The S&B’s Chloe Wray, along with photographer Helena Gruensteidl, went to the farmers market on Thursday, Sept. 14, to talk to vendors about their products, farms, and favorite part of the market. Meet the vendors below.

 

“I’m transitioning to organic, so I’m not certified yet, so I say I’m chemical-free. I follow organic standards. That means I don’t use synthetic herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers.”
— Jordan Scheibel, Middle Way Farms

 

“The best apples we have now are honey crisp. Jonathan are good all around Iowa apples. Gala’s pretty popular. Wealthy and Macintosh, if you’re from out East, we got a lot of kids from out east. Macintosh is the apple they really like.”
— Dave Hinegardner, Hinegardner Orchards

 

“I have salves, bug protection, body oils, natural deodorants and things for the bath. I make all of this and lip balms. I’ve been making them for five years. For years I used baby products because I have very sensitive skin, and I was reading what was even in the baby products, the chemicals and I just started doing lots of research and decided to start making my own. They don’t have chemicals, whatsoever. I won’t make anything that you have to have a chemical in, and I’m doing research right now on natural preservatives because I’d like to make body scrubs. “
— Sandy Durr, Soaring Creations

 

“We live in between Brooklyn and Taima and Malcolm and Chelsea, so we’re like 12 miles from nowhere. I have candles and melts, some odor eliminating sprays and air fresheners. I’ve been making them for about 15 years. They are made with soybean wax instead of paraffin, so it’s actually made with soybean oil, and they hydrogenate it, kind of like they do margarine.”
— Karen Kline, Center Point Farm

 

“To the market I bring the pork products, the chicken products, which are grass-fed heritage breeds, and baked goods, generally. … I’ve been the market manager for six years now, for the Thursday market. I’m the site manager, we’re sponsored through the Chamber of Commerce, so I work with the chamber people on setup and how we run things. We’re a 100 percent vendor produced market, so I verify vendors produce, what they bring.”
— Anne Brau, Compass Plant CSA

 

“[The brand] is named after my mom; she taught me how to garden and how to can. My husband and I came up with this recipe and so it was born seven years ago. I’m in grocery stores and farmers markets, the Cedar Rapids farmers market also. It’s all Iowa produce, I have my cousin growing for me over in Brooklyn, Iowa. I have an inspected kitchen in Montezuma and I also have my processing license. My processing license allows me to sell in grocery stores, farmers markets. Because of the tomatoes it has to be certified. Every batch is processed and I test the pH and it has to be a certain level.”
— Marilyn D’Aguanno, Momma Teresa’s Salsa