Blog

2022 Holiday Gift Guide

Give the gift of local food and art with gifts from Mill City Farmers Market this holiday season. We’ve rounded up one-of-a-kind, sustainably sourced and handmade items from our winter vendors to make this Saturday a one-stop-shop for everyone on your list. All vendors on this list will be at the market on December 17th…  Read More

Sweet Corn Update Mill City Farmers Market

What’s Happening with the 2022 Sweet Corn Season?

Now more than ever, small market farmers are being forced to quickly pivot and “expect the unexpected” when it comes to weather, labor, supply chains and the many other factors that affect their products. We talked to 3 of our sweet corn farmers about what went into Minnesota’s iconic farmers market crop (or lack thereof)…  Read More

National Farmers Market Week

It’s National Farmers Market Week! Every August around the country we celebrate Farmers Market Week, and this year’s theme is farmers markets don’t just happen. Farmers markets are abundant sources of food, connection and resilience in our communities, but they don’t just happen on their own. Behind the scenes of every successful farmers market is…  Read More

2022 Next Stage Grant Awards

Congratulations to Mill City Farmers Market’s 2022 Next Stage Grant awardees! The Next Stage Grant program provides funding to local, regenerative farmers and other food makers who are improving sustainable farming and business practices or growing toward the “next stage” of their businesses. In 2022 we awarded 10 grants totaling $63,626 to support local farmers and other vendors…  Read More

TonzKitchen Mill City Farmers Market

Pandemic Startups at Mill City Farmers Market

In 2022, Mill City Farmers Market welcomes a record number of new vendors, many of them founding their businesses during the pandemic as owners experienced layoffs in the food industry or chose to switch careers as part of the great resignation. Meet three of these entrepreneurs in our latest blog article from food writer Mecca…  Read More

Pure ginger for You 2022

Pure Ginger for You: A pandemic start-up with a mission to heal

Mill City Farmers Market vendor Pure Ginger for You shares their journey into business tied with Beau’s immigration story, health changes and a calling to serve the community through the COVID-19 pandemic.  By Jenny Heck “Back in Liberia, ginger was my mother’s pharmacy. We made ginger tea and beer almost every week. The benefits were…  Read More

Cafe Palmira Carlos with bags

From Guatemala to Minnesota: Cafe Palmira’s family farmed coffee

Mill City Farmers Market vendor Carlos Palacios, owner of Cafe Palmira, shares the story behind his 4th-generation family coffee farm and the changes and challenges facing the industry. By Victoria Blanco When the pandemic hit, Carlos Palacios, owner of Cafe Palmira, stayed connected with clients the way he has for the past fourteen years: by…  Read More

Jacque Women's Environmental Institute

More than a Farm: Women’s Environmental Institute

Founders of Women’s Environmental Institute, one of Mill City Farmers Market’s year-round vendors, share the 20-year “herstory” of the certified organic farm and orchard and it’s unique role as a non-profit in Minnesota farming. By Alia Jeraj, @aliaxgrace “We are a farm, but we are more than a farm,” says Jacque Zita, Director of Education…  Read More

2021 Next Stage Grant Awards

Congratulations to Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund’s 2021 Next Stage Grant awardees! The Next Stage Grant program provides funding to local, regenerative farmers and other food makers who are improving sustainable farming and business practices or growing toward the “next stage” of their businesses. In 2021 we awarded 15 grants totaling $73,415 to support…  Read More

2021 Season Recap

Learn about our impact of our food access programs, farmer grants and support of the local food economy with a message from our executive director and a recap of our 2021 Charitable Fund work. Click here to view this document as a pdf.