Winter market makes eating local easy year round

Last week on WYCE’s The Local Feed, we talked about the winter farmers market. That’s right, get fresh Michigan vegetables, greens, apples, meat, cheese, milk and eggs over the winter! Listen to the link above.

The Fulton St. Farmers Market is open on Saturdays January through April. The hours are 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be nearly 20 vendors at the market weekly. Seven will be inside- with the rest braving the cold weather so you can have fresh, Michigan food on your table.

All vendors make or grow at least 80% of what they sell. Many of the farmers are embracing agricultural technologies to extend their season, meaning that there will be much more greenhouse and hydroponically grown produce available than you might expect.

Need some apples? Platte’s got ‘em. Fresh eggs and meats are available from Crane Dance Farms, Rakowksi Farms, Woodbridge Dairy Farm, and S&S Lamb. Hickory Knoll Creamery will be in the building with their farmstead goat cheese. Fresh vegetables will ready for you from Growing Green Family Farm, Ham Family Farms, Visser Farms and Real Food Farms.

Dancing Goat Creamery will be outside most Saturdays. 45th Parallel Polish Pickling Co. will sell their salsa, pickles and more. Of course, Brickyard Farms will have their quality soaps, lotions and lip balms at the market too. 

August’s Kitchen will be there with fine pastries and baked goods. For dried goods, Grand Shire has soup mixes and herbal blends, and Shady Side Farms has a variety of Michigan beans.

As the winter progresses, more vendors will be coming: Grand Rapids Bagel, Bova Bakery (pizza crusts, foccacia, etc,) and Juliana Mechtler (Hungarian pastries).

The Local Feed airs on WYCE (88.1 FM) on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8:30 a.m.