Over the last three years I have watched this Farmers Market evolve into becoming a veritable robust market. As you would expect in any such market, there is ethnic diversity among the local farmers and that, of course, greatly contributes to a rich diversity of food products. Like one reviewer mentioned, there are some food products available in this market that have been grown and harvested by local farmers, that I have never seen by many of us before. And that is cool!
Today, the 17th of October, I made my usual trip to the market. I purchased two incredible giant broccoli crowns, two bags of spinach, 8 bell peppers, a lb or so of jalepeno peppers, fresh baked pumpkin bread, two cherry turnovers, 2 tubs of home churned butter, two dozen organic eggs from free range chickens and a beautiful boquet of flowers. Everything fresh and local. Total cost $40 and worth every penny of it! And that's forty dollars that went to help support my local farmers. You can't beat a deal like that.
Having a thriving Farmers Market is an indication that the city of Fort Smith is finally reawakening! The doors and windows are being propped open and new fresh life and ideas are pouring in and purging the city of its years of accumulating stagnation. Hip Hip Hooray!
I can easily envision the Farmers Market evolving into a full fledged 24/7 market where not only local farmers can sell their products but where local artists, artisans and crafts people can do so as well. But food , as it should be, will always be at the core. People just naturally come together around food. :-)