A Growing Concern
Farmers’ markets growing in freshness, popularity

Maria Lohmann, Jenice Peterson and Prisca Johnson help a customer with produce at their booth at the Gallup Farmers' Market on Saturday morning. With the summer growing season well underway, growers are beginning to offer a wide selection of locally grown fruits and vegetables. [Photo by Brian Leddy/Independent]

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff Writer

GALLUP — Every Saturday — from July until early October — four local marketplaces offer a unique opportunity for residents to talk to the people who actually grow some of their food. They also offer residents the chance to eat fresher, healthier produce and to try new varieties of food that are not available in chain grocery stores.

The marketplaces are the small but growing in Acoma, Gallup, Ramah, and Shiprock, where vendors sell freshly picked produce like beets, bell peppers, carrots, corn, greens, lettuce, onions, spinach, squash, tomatoes and turnips, and fresh fruits like apples, melons, peaches, and rhubarb. Most also feature fresh eggs, flowers, herbs, honey, jams, and a few baked goods. Some will allow a few arts and crafts vendors, as long as the items are handmade by the vendor.

The markets are part of the 45-member New Mexico Farmers’ Markets organization, which is being recognized this week by Gov. Bill Richardson as part of the Aug. 5-11 “National Farmers’ Market Week.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, over 4,500 farmers’ markets currently operate in the nation — up from 2,800 in 2000.

“Consumers benefit from the freshness, quality, and wide selection of locally grown products,” Dr. I. Miley Gonzalez, New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture, said in a July 31 news release. “Meeting and interacting with the farmer who grows the food also develops in consumers a special bond of trust in the integrity and accountability of our growers.”

New Mexico also now participates in a modest coupon program for recipients of the federal Women, Infants, and Children assistance program. Recipients can use the coupons to purchase fresh produce at some farmers’ markets.

The Independent recently visited the Gallup Farmers’ Market, which is small and just a few years old, and the Ramah Farmers’ Market, which is larger and more established. Carole Palmer is the volunteer manager of the Gallup market, and Jackie Rossignol and Denis Black serve as co-managers in Ramah.

The Gallup Farmers’ Market opened for the 2007 season just two weeks ago with about a half-dozen vendors. Palmer said the market draws from about 30 vendors who sell throughout the season, with about 15 of them showing up on peak Saturdays.

“Everything that we sell is grown or made by the people here,” Palmer said.

Although cranberry scones, loaves of lemon-blueberry bread, and strawberry-rhubarb pies are staples at the Gallup Farmers’ Market, Palmer said the market’s emphasis is always on fresh produce.

According to Rossignol and Black, about 12 to 15 vendors sell regularly at the Ramah market, which has become so popular with consumers that some of them drive from Gallup and Grants each Saturday, and the crowd of shoppers has to be held back until sales begin at 10 a.m. Most of the produce sells out by 11:30 a.m., they explained, and what is left is then marketed to Gallup’s La Montanita Co-op Food Market.

“It’s very much a community event,” said Rossignol, who explained that after people have done their weekly fresh produce shopping, they stick around to socialize. The market attracts about 250 people each weekend, added Black.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” agreed Palmer of the Gallup market. Vendors are supportive of each others’ gardening efforts and frequently share growing tips, she said. It’s a family environment, with children attending along with their parents, she added.

The managers agreed that community support is important, because growing vegetables is not easy in this region due to the challenging weather conditions, winds, elevation, soils and garden pests.

Both markets also welcome vendors who are just interested in selling surplus items as little as once during the season. For example, folks who have a bumper crop of squash or a tree-load of apples are welcome to sell just those items when they are freshly picked.

The Ramah Farmers’ Market also has a community table where gardeners who don’t have enough produce to have their own booth can sell with others. The Ramah market also now sponsors a newsletter, a Memorial Day plant sale, annual seed exchange, yearly potlucks, and a Harvest Festival with a pie baking contest. Rossignol and Black, who both have agricultural education and training, are also well versed in a variety of scientific, social, and political issues related to food production.

For more information about the New Mexico Farmers’ Marketing Association: (888) 983-4400 or visit www.farmersmarketsnm.org.

For gardeners and farmers are struggling with a prairie dog problem, the Shiprock Agency Cooperative Extension Office is offering a Master Grower presentation on the subject at 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 6 at the Shiprock BIA conference room.

Reporter Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola can be contacted at (505) 863-6811 ext. 218 or ehardinburrola@yahoo.com.