Once upon a time, before COVID-19, it was possible to shop at three different farmers markets in Naperville.
The Naperville Farmers Market on Fifth Avenue started in 1989 and became a Saturday morning staple.
The 95th Street Farmer’s Market, co-hosted by the Naperville Park District and Naperville Public Library, was going strong on Thursday afternoons and early evenings.
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And the St. John’s Farmer’s Market run by the St. John’s Episcopal Church, took over on Wednesday afternoons and early evenings.
Now only one remains.
The Fifth Street market is ready to open for its 35th season at 7 a.m. Saturday at 200 East 5th Ave.
St. John’s last market was held in 2019. It has not come back since being canceled by the pandemic in 2020 during the pandemic.
The 95th Street market was a Thursday afternoon staple for the city’s south side, having survived the COVID years and running a full schedule in 2022, but it is gone now too.
“We decided not to offer the market again this year because we were not able to attract enough farmers with local produce to support a weekly farmers market,” Naperville Park District Community Development manager Sue Omanson in an email. “With high gas prices and long distances to travel, farmers have been attending fewer markets than in past years.”
The market has changed for the markets, Omanson said.
“Some farmers sell weekly shares of produce to customers in CSAs (community supported agriculture) rather than attending multiple farmers markets,” Omanson said. “Our goal was to offer healthy, local produce to the community in a south Naperville location as a complement to the market in downtown Naperville.
“We were happy to partner with Naperville Public Library to do so.”
Although the Fifth Avenue market may be the only game in town right now, don’t expect a reduction in quality. Officials are gearing up for a big 2023 season full of the extras that have made it a popular place to visit.
Market manager Kathy Mortensen said there will be four special events for kids — the Verrry Berry Summer Fest on July 8, Cornfest on Aug. 12, Fall Fest on Sept. 30 and the Halloween Parade on Oct. 28.
Among the 50-plus vendors, some new faces this year include Oberweis Dairy, Creek Side Market Garden and Marcy’s Garden flowers.
The market also offers visitor information on such things as food preparation and freezing and canning foods.
“It’s a good thing because people don’t know how high the cost of food will get in the future,” Mortensen said.
A vendor coming back for a third year is Handlettered for Hope, an organization set up by Naperville North High School student Peyton Milligan that donates 50% of its proceeds from items sold to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer.
Mortensen said that since COVID, the market has been doing great business. Because they don’t keep track of attendance figures, she judges success on vendors selling out on market days, which has happened often since the pandemic, she said.
“People want fresh food, and they want to shop local and stay out of the grocery stores,” she said. “They are really supporting the farmers and the vendors. Our vendors have done wonderfully since all of that.
“The people like knowing where their food is coming from and to know it’s local and not sitting in warehouses,” she said.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.