By Emily LePain
Murphy News Service
Mill City Farmers Market began by accident.
In 2006, while opening her new restaurant, Spoonriver, Brenda Langton decided she wanted a few farmers outside her restaurant from time to time because she used local and organic foods. Langton thought it would be a good promotional idea for her business and sustainability, said Alex Hoag, the founding director of the market.
Then John Crippen, Minnesota Historical Society director of historical sites and museums, suggested making it a full-fledged market. So the Mill City Farmers Market was born.
“We called a committee, threw around a few ideas, and I ended up taking the job of founding director because I had experience in PR and advertising work,” Hoag said. “We started planning in February 2006 and opened in May that same year.”
But initially, the process to get the market off the ground was difficult.
“What we wanted to do and the way we wanted to do it was different than the city was used to and we were ignorant of the process at the time,” Hoag said.
“Getting through the governmental process was more difficult than getting the media onboard. It took hours to work with all the different agencies, and everyone was saying ‘no’ to us. We had no money in the beginning. But a few people were so dedicated and were working 60 to 70 hours a week. It was definitely a labor of love.”
Marjorie Hegstrom, the market’s founding manager, was working for a nonprofit at the time and had a lot of farmer contacts she was able to get involved in the market.
The first three years were the hardest.
“It took a good three or four years to really get the market going. We promoted constantly,” Hoag said. “We were sending out press releases on a weekly basis.”
The market hosted concerts and cooking demonstrations by famous chefs. They had to educate people about organic farming and sustainability. “We had to go to Wisconsin to get many of our vendors, but it wasn’t too hard because as long as they were able to make a living, they would come,” Hoag said.
“Our market began as an assortment of carefully hand-picked vendors, many of whom are still here today,” said Katherine Heilmann, the market’s marketing and events manager. “Now, we have an open application process, but we really try to carefully balance our vendor assortment … But if we see a hole in the market, then we actively seek out specific vendors.”
As locals are more familiar with the market it operates on its own.
“This area already had a lot of people who believed in organic and sustainable farming,” Hoag said. “We already had a base of consumers when we started. We did a lot of advertising and we did it well, so when word got around to all the co-ops in town, and people started talking about the market, things really took off.”
“We [still] do some advertising, but not much,” Heilmann said. “Last year we ran ads through the Current (radio station) and we plan to do so again this year, specifically to promote our winter markets. We do counts periodically throughout the season, and saw as many as 6,300 customers on a given Saturday.”
Mill City Farmers Market has certainly gained momentum since its start. And it didn’t just attract local media attention.
“New York Magazine wrote an article on the market a few years ago, and we’ve been compared to great markets around the world, including Barcelona’s Mercat de Sant Josep/La Boqueria,” Hoag said. “Once we got it off the ground, the market took off pretty fast. It was the right idea at the right time. The media loved it, it appealed to everyone.”
Now, the primary goal is to promote the market as a place where people can do their weekly grocery shopping.
“The number of people coming to the is definitely increasing, but it’s hard to tell if these people are active shoppers,” Heilmann said. “While we welcome people to come and socialize … we really are trying to promote awareness about the importance of buying local and organic goods.”
Mill City Farmers Market collaborates with Mill City Museum and Spoonriver Restaurant to promote healthy food, local farming and sustainable living. The market is located on the Chicago Mall between the Guthrie Theatre and Spoonriver Restaurant. It is open Saturdays, May 12 through Sept. 27, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fall hours run Saturdays, Oct. 4–Oct. 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Winter markets take place every second Saturday from November to April, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the Mill City Museum.
Reporter Emily LePain is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.