Students help farmers market thrive
Published on Mon., September 8th, 2008
Three weeks into the semester, it can be hard to find a place in Lawrence removed from the elevated noise levels that come with the swell of KU students. But on the edge of Pendleton’s Country Market, four miles east of Lawrence, Bobby Sauder and Rolf Petermann tear sweet potatoes from the earth by hand. The only sound interrupting the ambient background of insects is the occasional pickup truck driving by on its way to pick up fresh produce.
Video
Video by Ryan McGeeney
The Downtown Lawrence Farmers Market has proven to be a boon to both local residents and students alike.
Pendleton’s Country Market is one of at least a half-dozen local farms that regularly interact with the Lawrence community through the Lawrence Farmers’ Market. The market, established in 1976, is open Saturday mornings at 8th and New Hampshire streets and Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 10th and Vermont streets. Joanna Voigt, assistant to the Market Coordinator, said it regularly featured between 60 and 70 vendors. Students have become more involved in the market as it grows.
Jennifer Kongs, Topeka senior, began working at a market retail booth for Hoyland Farm in 2007, at first accepting free produce as payment.
“I’ve been really interested in sustainable agriculture and the idea of local food economies for a couple of years now,” said Kongs. “After studying it in school, I decided that I wanted to be a part of it. I decided the best way to do that was to get experience growing food.”
John Pendleton, who runs the land his father purchased and began farming in the 1950s, said he had never imagined that the market would come to compete for his family’s primary source of revenue.
“The Saturday morning market is a phenomenon that is just absolutely unbelievable,” said Pendleton, who planted his first half-acre of asparagus in 1980. As the agriculture crisis of the 1980s caused his farm to shift away from livestock operations, Pendleton began raising other vegetables and flowers for direct sale at local markets.
“I actually thought, 10, 15 years ago, that we would have graduated away from the farmer’s market by now,” said Pendleton. “But every year, the desire for people to go to a farmers’ market has just exponentially increased.”
Pendleton employs the two students to help with his farming, and both are interested in sustainable practices.
Petermann, Lawrence senior, said he became involved with organic farming as a result of his architectural studies.
“You’re growing all kinds of food that you need to survive in ways that can cut down on reliance on natural resources,” Petermann said. “That’s how I got interested in working out here.”
Sauder, a 2007 graduate, said he found his work, picking vegetables on the 35-acre farm, the perfect foundation for his post-graduate life.
“I’m a musician, actually,” said Sauder. “I’m pursuing music, and this is where I’m working while I do that. I didn’t want to take on anything too serious.”
The farmers and other vendors found at the market enjoy a position in the Lawrence community similar to many businesses in the area, serving KU students as both employer and retailer.
Aspects of small-scale farming like organic methods and limited transportation distances are often-voiced concerns of regular patrons of the market. Brandon Stone, a Camdenton, Mo., graduate student, mentioned Eva, his one-year-old daughter, as one motivating factor.
“With our daughter, we want her to be eating pesticide-free, and as local as possible,” said Stone. “For example, tomatoes — they travel I don’t know how far from Mexico just to get to the grocery stores. It’s so much better just to get a local tomato. It tastes better, and it’s better for you.”
— Edited by Arthur Hur
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