Imagine an early Saturday morning at Tower Grove Park in the springtime — leaves have returned to the trees and well over 120 vendors are setting out fresh produce, and specialty goods for sale. This is just a part of the many things patrons of the Tower Grove Farmers Market are seeing, especially during the market’s 20th season.
Tower Grove Farmers Market manager Chris Geden and general manager Bess Kretsinger Heffernan joined St. Louis on the Air to share notable bits of market history and how it has become a staple in the community since its start in 2006.
Along the way, Geden has also received the title of mayor of the market.
“The best thing about the farmers market [is] not only the produce and the food and all that other stuff. It's the people and the relationships that we've built. … There's so many kids that I've literally watched grow up at the market, and now some of them run the stands, some of them are off in college,” Geden said.
Despite the 20th season kicking off with a rainy start, Tower Grove Farmers Market has already seen so much of the community that supports it. Over 10,000 shoppers came to the second market of the season earlier this month. Customer faithfulness to the market is an outgrowth of the commitment of all the people who bring their food and goods to the market each week.
“I want to take a moment to talk about the vendors, the producers, the artisans, the farmers, because they show up with just as much, if not more, dedication than our team. [Some are] driving two hours just to come to St. Louis,” Kretsinger Heffernan said.
“So it's really easy for our team to come through and say, ‘We will do everything we can to see the success of this market.’ And even when it's raining, we're going to be there so that our shoppers can come out, because our vendors give us all the dedication in the world,” she added.
To hear more about the Tower Grove Farmers’ Market history, and what it has to offer, listen to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
