The sweet scent of fresh flowers, just-popped kettle corn and hot-from-the-oven baked goods tantalized the hundreds who perused the homegrown offerings from nearly two dozen vendors Saturday, the opening day of the Naperville Farmer’s Market.
“It’s the heart of the community,” said Monica Ramos, who picked up a basil plant, some rhubarb and fresh mozzarella at the market, located in the parking lot of the 5th Avenue Station near downtown. “This is a special place to me. My kids went to preschool (near) here, and we’ve been coming for 15 years. It’s a wonderful Saturday morning thing to do. My girls are grown now, and we decided to do what they used to do when they were young.”
Ramos said she likes to support families that sell homemade products that “haven’t been sitting around in a store for months,” including such items as sausage, butter, cheese, honey, salsa, relish, pickles, coffee, marshmallows, pet treats, produce, eggs, seafood, meat and houseplants. The selection will expand to include more vegetables and fruits as produce comes into season at the weekly market, held from 7 a.m. to noon every Saturday through Oct. 28.
One booth Saturday even offered a break from the hot, sunny day with relaxation in the shade by massage therapist Chelsea Brown. Market Master Annamarie Bensfield said she hopes to add more services and entertainment this season to help make the market more of a “social event.”
“Today was slow. A lot of people didn’t know it was still going on, forgot about it, haven’t heard about it in a while,” said Bensfield, who took over this season from the couple who ran the nonprofit for 27 years and have moved to Arizona. Bensfield said she is planning to expand it to include local performers and more vendors cooking on-site and offering breakfast.
“What we want to do is make it bigger again; keep the integrity, but it doesn’t have to be all organic,” she said. “Everything has to be done in a certified, approved kitchen. It’s homegrown, made by families,” said Bensfield, a member of the Rosati family, who was selling homemade pasta and sauces.
Despite a turnout that was below expectations, several vendors sold out of everything.
“It was really good today, very busy,” said Caitlin Ailsworth, a clerk for Naperville’s DeEtta’s Bakery, which ran out of donuts and muffins and had to have more delivered. Customers gobbled up the treats, she said, because “they look incredible. They’re made from scratch. There’s not a ton of bakeries in Naperville. They love to see one from Naperville.”
“I like that a lot of it is local,” Ramos said. Many owners, such as Greg Rosenquist, say they depend solely on income from farmers markets.
Rosenquist runs Staff of Life Farms in Dwight, with his wife and five of his 11 children, ranging in age from 2 to 19. They sell eggs, beef, lamb, honey and cookies at three other local farmers markets but only sell kettle corn, breads and ice cream in Naperville because Bensfield works with the vendors to ensure variety and lack of duplication.
“Our primary business is farmers markets. We can tell you about the bread, how we made it. We started all organic, but found that to be less important,” Rosenquist said. More people care that his food is “fresh, handmade, no artificial flavors or preservatives, supporting a family business,” he said.
More Top Picks Why Does My Child Get Headaches After School Every Day
Rosenquist said he started with a bakery in 1992 and by 1999 was selling exclusively through farmers markets. He bought a farm in 2005, and makes enough to support his large family thanks to low overhead – no store, no employees and vendor booth costs that are less than $100 per week.
Bernie Saad said Honey Trails also sells products that are “all natural. The stuff in the store can have added syrups and filter out things that are good for you, like pollen. We have 150 hives. My husband is the beekeeper. I extract and bottle. I also make candles, skin care, soap from the beeswax,” she said.
Longtime customer Joan Dolinar, of Lisle, said she likes to support family farmers who are “good people. They work hard. They don’t have asphalt all over their land.”
Bensfield said the vendor list is expected to grow. It currently features the following businesses: Evergreen Farm from Yorkville; Manna Organics from Lisle; Modest Coffee from West Chicago; Stojan’s Vegetables from Maple Park; Drover’s Trail Natural Farms from Minooka; Honey Trails from Wayne; B.A.A.R.K. Dog Rescue from Barrington Hills; DeEtta’s Bakery from Naperville; Rosati’s from Warrenville; Staff of Life from Dwight; Avanti Foods from Walnut; Lange’s Farm from Elwood; The Hair of the Ferret from Crown Point, Ind.; Hometown Sausage Kitchen from East Troy, Wis.; River Valley Kitchens from Salem, Wis.; The Cheese People from Madison, Wis.; Barb’s Garden & Pantry from Long Grove, Iowa; Fabien Seafood from Galeston, Texas; That Pickle Guy; Katic Breads; Twisted Olive; and Peep Inc.
Diane Moca is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.