BROOKINGS The Brookings Farmers Market is moving indoors. Now through April 17, the Brookings Activity Center will house a Winter Market the first Saturday of the month from 9 a.m. to noon and again the third Thursday of the month starting today from 4 to 7 p.m.
The farmers market is part of the Downtown Brookings organization, and executive director Kirsten Gjesdal said theyve received feedback asking for it to continue beyond autumn.
Its been a request from our vendors for as long as I can remember to have a winter market, Gjesdal said. Previously the way the market was run, there really wasnt a manager that was available over the winter, because it was always run by a team of volunteers. But now, since its under the Downtown Brookings umbrella, we have a staff member in the office all the time who can do that kind of planning throughout the season.
The activity center is partnering by serving as a winter home.
The activity center staff has been such a helpful group, Gjesdal said. They worked with us on the facility cost which was really great to be able to get a reduced rental rate from them, sponsoring us this winter through that. The space is so great, theres already some tables and some chairs. Its already a big, open square, and so being able to utilize their space really well and the materials they can provide is going to be great. And its so close to our regular market location that I think thatll be helpful for customers when theyre trying to find us.
They hope to complement rather than replace other local seasonal markets.
The Agricultural Heritage Museum on campus does two markets throughout the winter, and those are still going on those are the second Saturday of December and the third Saturday of February, Gjesdal said. Those are in addition to the markets were doing at the activity center. They bring in different people Theyre both really great and will definitely still be offered.
Finding fresh produce in winter is challenging, but not impossible.
Theres an assumption theres no produce available in the winter but there absolutely is. Gjesdal said. We have people who do microgreens and hydroponic farming. One of our vendors has strawberries planted right now indoors and is expecting to have fresh strawberries in January. Theres greens that are available all winter long, and theres root vegetables like potatoes and those sorts of vegetables that are much more weather-hardy and last a bit longer. Therell be a good amount of produce available.
Just as in summer, the market will accept SNAP payments for food. People can use EBT cards at the Downtown Brookings booth and obtain tokens to spend on food; vendors redeem those for cash at the close of day.
We did have some people use that over the summer, but wed love to see that increase, Gjesdal said. So come get fresh locally baked bread, locally produced meat, strawberries in January and be able to use SNAP for that.
In addition to offering fresh food, the Winter Market also features many non-food vendors. Delaney Golden runs a booth called Delaneys Hobbies, selling customized cups, sunglasses and tote bags.
Remember that theres a lot of stuff here. If you just take the time to look or to go to these events, youre going to have the opportunity to be surrounded by locally produced stuff, Golden said. Theres so many incredible things that are within our community that could be found in a lot of different places. But the fact that you can get them here and create a sustainable ecosystem of our own people being able to contribute locally to people who are doing the same stuff that machines or big name places can do that brings a lot of importance to the community.
Marissa Snyder is another non-food vendor. She runs the Harvest Soap Company, selling hand-crafted soap, scented candles and lotions.
I have a website and I sell mostly online. So getting to interact with my customers and get their feedback direct is just invaluable to me, Snyder said. Come out to the market our smells are free. Its just a great way to check out what your community has to offer. The farmers market and small businesses like mine wouldnt be anything without community support.
Email Jay Roe at [email protected].
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