Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
WINONA LAKE – People were able to see what was available for purchase at the first Farmers Market at Winona at the Miller Sunset Pavilion Saturday.
Brittany Denney, market manager, said the farmers market will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday until Oct. 24.
This is the fourth year for Farmers Market at Winona and Denney said the purpose of the market “is to bring farmers here to sell their goods. It’s mostly a food-oriented market. But it also is a community space, so the community comes out, they can run into their neighbors. The kids will enjoy the bounce house and it’s just a giant community space for people to come on Saturday mornings.”
Denney believed there were 28 vendors at the market Saturday and she said she was looking at about 40 vendors to attend the market for the year, with vendors from Kosciusko County and adjacent counties.
“So we want to have food vendors. We want produce vendors. We want people that ae making sweet treats and making their own bread. It’s a producer-only market,” Denney said of vendors the market is trying to attract. “All the vendors here produce their own food, so they’re either baking the break or they’re baking the cookies or you’re talking to the farmer that’s actually growing the food that they’re selling.”
Having a producer-only farmers market helps engage the farmers with the people that are going to consume their food and it helps bring the community closer together, she said.
Denney said since the beginning of the farmers market, the market has gotten busier, “it’s become more and more of a community space. It’s more of a thing to do Saturday mornings to come check out the market, grab some breakfast, run into your neighbors and stay a couple hours.”
Denney Farms was one of the vendors at the Farmers Market at Winona Saturday. Denney said they were asked to be a vendor the first year the farmers market opened “and I decided to give it a shot. We had a spot open that and it’s turned into a great market to the point where this is the only market we sell at.”
Denney sells plants they grow from their own seeds, as well as produce.
Kara Kennedy, of Lemler Valley Farm, said they’re a family-grown flower farm out of Bourbon and have been growing flowers a little over 50 years. They have been selling at the farmers market since its first year.
Kennedy’s family was selling products through the South Bend farmers market and were looking for some place where they could sell a little bit more locally. Since Bourbon is only about 20 minutes away from Winona Lake, the Farmers Market at Winona seemed like a really good option.
The farmers markets are really great for communities support communities, Kennedy said.
Philip Etner, of the Pond at Lampost Manor, said the Pond makes jams and jellies. His sister-in-law recommended he sell the jams and jellies at a farmers market. When the one in Winona Lake, he decided to start selling in Winona Lake.
“So I think it’s a great space for people to interact and to get out and be in the open air and to be able to have some fresh, good produce and get some good, nice, beautiful flowers and great products, not just made, but made with love and care. So I think it’s just wonderful for the customer. And then, for the vendors, we get to get our names out there and to grow and to be able to share what we love to do,” he said.
Mikie and Brooks Stogsdill, from Good Farm Dog Treats, are in the dog treat business and sell human-grade dog treats. Mikie said the dog treats are all organic, all natural, with limited ingredients and no preservatives.
There are so many dogs at the farmers market in Winona Lake that it was a great market to be in, Mikie said.
“It’s a great opportunity fo rus to get direct contact face-to-face with people and talk to them about why they should transition from kibble to real dog treats,” Brooks said.
They said one of the factors they sell at Winona Lake’s farmers market is because of the roof at the MSP.
“It could be raining out and people are still in our building, which we’re still being able to serve them, and their dogs are still here, so it’s great,” Mikie said.
To become a vendor, people can email mspmanager@winonalakein.gov or they can stop by Town Hall from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and they can fill out an application.
