Each Saturday, more than 160 vendors and 10,000 people flock to buy local produce, make a full lunch out of free samples and—most importantly—support local farmers.
Anna Curtin, education and events manager for the Portland Farmers Market, said that in order to have a coveted stall at the PSU market a vendor must meet very specific criteria.
Without exception, all stalls must sell food and food products only. Crafts, heavily processed foods and nationally-distributed packaged foods are strictly prohibited. Curtin also said that stalls for ethical and environmentally responsible farmers are given top priority. Vendors must be local (from Oregon and Southwest Washington) and produce a consistently high-quality product.
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Each Saturday, more than 160 vendors and 10,000 people flock to buy local produce, make a full lunch out of free samples and—most importantly—support local farmers.
Anna Curtin, education and events manager for the Portland Farmers Market, said that in order to have a coveted stall at the PSU market a vendor must meet very specific criteria.
Saria Dy / Vanguard StaffFarmers Market
Without exception, all stalls must sell food and food products only. Crafts, heavily processed foods and nationally-distributed packaged foods are strictly prohibited. Curtin also said that stalls for ethical and environmentally responsible farmers are given top priority. Vendors must be local (from Oregon and Southwest Washington) and produce a consistently high-quality product.
According to Curtin, the market especially focuses on offering a vast array of unusual products and promoting small producers with artisan-quality goods.
“We want the market to have things that you wouldn’t find in a grocery store,” Curtin said.
Mission accomplished. With one winding loop through the market aisles, you can find homemade honeys and jams, grass-fed meats, incredibly cheap flowers and even locally made kimchi. The market offers everything, from pesto to pickles to gluten-free baked goods to vegan cheeses. Overall, the prices are a bit higher than at the average grocery store, but that doesn’t mean screaming deals don’t exist—Safeway can’t touch $15 for flats of peaches and 75 cents for market cucumbers.
Saria Dy / Vanguard Staff
Wandering through aisle after aisle of organic homemade food is bound to make one hungry. Luckily, the market also offers a medley of food carts to satisfy just about any craving.
Cafe Vélo and Spunky Monkey Coffee provide shoppers with espresso while they wait in line for a Salvador Molly’s tamale or a Pine State Biscuits breakfast monstrosity. (A word of advice: If you have your heart set on trying a Pine State creation, get in line early because their biscuit sandwiches sell out every Saturday.) Other hot food vendors include Via Chicago pizza, C’est Si Bon organic crêpes and Tastebud pizza, salads and pitas.
Located between Southwest Hall and Southwest Montgomery Streets, the market is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays until it closes for the winter season on Dec. 17. The market will re-open the following spring on March 17.
Three months without convenient local produce is unacceptable, you say? Chill out—starting this year, there will be a winter farmer’s market in Shemanski Park.
