By Kaitlyn Rigdon
Staff Writer
Weather is great for growing crops, it also proved ideal for selling them. The Murphy Arts District’s Farmer’s Market held their grand opening and ribbon cutting Saturday morning, which brought out a large crowd and included a variety of vendors and products.
The Farmer’s Market will be open from 8 a.m. to noon every Wednesday and Saturday from May through October.
Elizabeth Young, director of MAD Farm and Sustainable Initiatives, said the community has been very supportive of the Farmer’s Market.
“(The community) has been looking forward to having all of their favorite vendors at the same place at the same times,” Young said. “I think a lot of these farmers have been doing this for a long time, and a couple of them are very new, like one or two years of farming.”
The vendors varied from selling honey, meats, vegetables, to hand made objects including signs, scarves and an array of items.
The Farmer’s Market worked with local vendors from El Dorado, Union County and the surrounding area to be a “producer-only” market, selling goods that are locally grown, raised or made. The vendors must be within a 150 mile radius of El Dorado.
Aaron Jennings, bee keeper and owner of Jennings Apiaries, had a booth at the market which featured different items that he has made using bee honey. Seven years ago, Jennings was looking for an organic skin care product that he could use, but had a hard time finding one.
“So I got one beehive thinking that would be enough, and as soon as I started messing with them, I totally fell in love with the bees,” Jennings said.
Jennings now owns over 100 beehives and makes his own organic skin care products out of Ruston, Louisiana. His products are currently in Whole Foods, Super 1 Foods and several health foods stores and boutiques in Louisiana.
He said Young contacted him about three years ago about being a vendor at MAD’s Farmer’s Market.
Jennings also set up a booth at the Mayhaw Festival last weekend. “Everybody has been super friendly,” he said. “I have no complaints, it’s been great. We’re going to try out the Wednesday market and see how that goes, so we’ll be there too.”
Dwayne and Karla Long of Longs Natural Farm, LLC grow a variety of produce and also pork. Dwayne said he uses organic feed that he has shipped to his home to feed the hogs.
Longs Natural Farm, LLC recently received a naturally grown certificate, meaning their products contain no GMOs, no synthetic chemicals and are locally grown.
The Longs went into farming because they wanted a change and also wanted to educate others on the difference of eating natural products versus chemically made products.
“We wanted to educate others about there being a different way of living besides eating chemicals,” Karla said. “To me, I think it’s what you put into your body that makes a difference.”
Karla also thanked MAD for providing a customer-friendly infrastructure to contain a Farmer’s Market in El Dorado.
Customer Jennifer Wasson bought homemade buttermilk biscuits at the market. “I love it,” she said, referring to the Farmer’s Market. “I think it’s neat to see all of the different vendors and what they have.”
There were also cooking demonstrations performed by Griffin Restaurant Chef John Peters III. Young said they wanted to include cooking demonstrations because “a lot of people don’t know different ways to use vegetables, especially healthier options.”
Young said in the future, customers can expect community events, music, cooking demos and much more at the Farmer’s Market.
MAD’s Chief Marketing Officer, Bob Tarren said he feels pretty good about the market, “and when the playscape opens, we think that people are going to accidentally discover this as well.”
Young said the Farmer’s Market will continue to grow because of it’s great location and the group of farmers and vendors. “We are grateful to the Murphy Arts District for providing the opportunity for our region,” she added.
To get an application for a booth at the Farmer’s Market, or any additional information, contact Young at [email protected].
Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].