Farm Fresh Food Access: Your Guide to Farmers Market Launch Season

As June graces the chilly Peninsula, so arrives farmer’s market season in the Keweenaw. The community comes alive with a burst of color and flavor as local farmers, artisans, and vendors converge to showcase their bounty.

Independent markets all over the peninsula are resuming  operations, showcasing local makers and farmers of their communities, while the non-profit organization From the Ground Farmers Markets heads into their third season.

FROM THE GROUND FARMER’S MARKET COLLECTIVE

Houghton

Houghton Pier next to Portage Lake District Library
Tuesdays 3-6 PM
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Hancock
Quincy Green

Thursdays 3-6 PM
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Calumet

Agassiz Park

Saturdays 10 AM - 2 PM
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Beginning the week of June 10

From the Ground Farmer’s Market (FTG), a board-run non-profit organization, made its debut in 2022, managing Hancock, Houghton and Calumet farmer’s markets. The organization was established to create innovative long-term solutions to the region’s farmer’s market plights: staffing, food access program facilitation, adequate budgets for marketing and supplies, etc. Essentially, the organization fulfills the many fundamental needs of farmer’s markets–which often overwhelm the municipality or individual market manager responsible for them.

In November, 2023, From the Ground officially secured their non-profit status. Co-founder Rachael Pressley has big aspirations for the organization’s future.

“Our goal is really to be a place-based leadership organization in food access. How we do that, what programs we support,. there are so many ways people get food, whether it’s institutional purchasing, restaurants, labor, food pantries, community gardens, schools, farms, there are lots of avenues we can get into,” said Pressley. “All of that really needs to be built on a strong foundation for an organization that is looking to stick around for a while.”

FTG has facilitated several state and federal food access programs since its inception:

• SNAP (“food stamps”/BridgeCard)

• Double Up Food Bucks (where BridgeCard owners receive up to $20 back for dollars spent on fresh produce)

• WIC

• Senior Project Fresh

• Aspirus Prescription for Health

• UPCAP programs Food is Medicine (for produce) and Fresh Food Access (meat, dairy, eggs, honey). These coupons are administered at several local clinics, so ask your primary care provider for them.

• MTU HuskyFAN tokens.

• FTG also processes credit and debit cards in exchange for tokens that customers can spend at the markets, covering all associated processing fees so that individual vendors don’t have to pay them.

Pressley comments that facilitating the food access programs not only gets nutritious food to the people who need it the most, but it also allows the organization to compete with other places where residents shop for groceries.

“Farmers markets are a little more expensive because they’re not subsidized,” said Pressley. “The cost of vegetables at the market is the true cost of food, and sometimes that’s overwhelming for people. The food programs actually make the food accessible and allow us to compete with the food from Walmart.”

Other key changes at FTG this year:

• The Calumet Market will now be held in Agassiz Park.

• Market management has seen an amicable change of hands: The job will be split by Cassandra Van Dam and Amanda Makela.

• WIC no longer allows market managers to transact WIC Produce Connection. Vendors have to apply for their own terminal with a subscription. FTG representatives comment that it has been a poor transition and that they are advocating at a state level (especially Rachael Pressley as a MIFMA (Michigan Farmers Market Association) Board of Directors member) for reconsideration of these changes.

• The organization is prioritizing signage and kids events, including a 4th of July event on the Quincy Green this year.

BARAGA COUNTY FARMER’S MARKET

Meadowbrook Park off Division St. in L’anse

Saturdays 9 am - 12 pm

June 15 - October 12

Wednesdays 3 pm - 5:30 pm

July 3rd - October 9

The Village of L’anse was just awarded a grant from Copper Shores Community Health Foundation to build a pavilion structure in Meadowbrooke Park for the Baraga County Farmer’s Market.

Joyce Budreau is managing the market for the 11th year in a row, although the longstanding market has been going “on and off” since the 80’s, according to a vendor.

Budreau says that though the market is small, it offers a wide variety of products, and that she most enjoys talking with people and trying to get more people involved.

The market is proud to accept UP Food as Medicine coupons, a program through UPCAP, in which residents can ask their doctors for markets to use as currency for fresh produce at participating farmer’s markets. Budreau hopes to also accept UPCAP’s sister program, UP Fresh Food Access, this year. UP Fresh Food Access coupons can be used to purchase meats, dairy, eggs, wild rice, maple syrup and honey.

LAKE LINDEN FARMER’S MARKET

Fridays 4-7 PM at Lake Linden Village Park

The Lake Linden Farmer’s Market is held in the heart of Lake Linden, facing Torch Lake and sharing a park space complete with a children’s playground, swing sets, a pavilion and picnic tables. The market promises food, music and community outreach, with new and returning vendors.

The market resumes its 10th year managed by Sarah Batzell, who also launched the Little Gem Community Center in March of last year. The building, once an old Catholic school, now houses a space where community members can attend yoga and other classes, as well as host other events like kids’ nights and holiday events. The Lake Linden Farmers Market will partner with the Little Gem’s in-house food bank this year: The Little Gem Community Cupboard. Mirroring the success of the Calumet Free Fridge, volunteers will make rounds at the end of the market to offer food vendors the option to donate what they don’t sell.

CHASSELL FARMER’S MARKET

Centennial Park on US 41 in Chassell

Wednesdays 3-6 PM

Media guru Moriah Goodall pioneers her third year organizing the charming Chassell Farmer’s Market, welcoming tourists and locals alike with an array of fresh produce, breads, and locally made crafts and souvenirs.

“The most inspiring thing to me about farmers markets is the ability of joining the community and the travelers,” said Goodall. “All of us in Chassell pride ourselves on making our market feel like a family gathering every week. We hope that we can inspire generations to come to continue and grow the Yooper spirit here in the Copper Country.”

While the market does not yet facilitate food access programs, farmer and local meat producer Gina Kerr of Whispering Wild Market & Farm, will have a table at the market, accepting SNAP and debit/credit cards using her own system, and she is currently mentoring other farmers on how to accept them, as well.

COPPER HARBOR

Every Thursday 7-9 PM

426 Gratiot Street, Copper Harbor, MI

Begins June 27

Bakers, farmers, and vendors of all kinds are welcome to set up for free alongside Performances in the Park in Copper Harbor hosted by Kathy and Jeff Ihde. The performances happen every Thursday, celebrating many talented local musicians of the area. 

SKANEE

Saturday mornings from 8:30-12 at the Skanee Fire Hall (Avon Fire Hall)

13158 Town Road, Skanee, MI 49962

The small Skanee market offers a convenient option for Skanee residents to acquire handmade and homegrown items without having to drive to L’anse or Marquette. Jamie Smith takes over the market for her first year, as a way to give back to the community.

“I've always had a desire to breathe life back into the community,” she says. “Last summer my family had been talking about starting one, but we found out that there already was one. We've always been about community and being able to continue this service will be a boon for the area.”

“It allows the older residents to socialize, especially those who don't or can't get out much anymore,” she continued. “It also allows people to buy local and give back to their community. Sales like those at the market help families live their lives.”

The market will feature handmade quilts, candles, farm fresh veggies, jams, jellies, and more.

SOUTH RANGE

The South Range farmer’s market has been canceled, as the vendors that were attending that market moved on to other markets in the area, according to a representative from the Village of South Range.

Bookended by the year’s cold, icy weather, farmer’s market season is a time of celebration, where community members reconnect; foodies revel in the season’s bounty of tastes, and the spirit of community thrives. Each transaction heralds the hard work and dedication of local producers, offering a vibrant tapestry of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and homemade goods. 

Enjoy the season!