We talked to marketgoers on the South and West Sides about their favorite produce garden tips and why they shop at farmers markets.
By Jennifer Bamberg, Kyel Brooks, Samantha Callender, Susan Carlotta Ellis and Sarah Conway
Madeira Orr, 84, was raised on a farm in Mississippi and now lives in Roseland, where she raised two daughters. (Sarah Conway/City Bureau)
There are more than 800 community growing spaces in Chicago—some 75 urban farms and 650 community and school gardens—according to the Chicago Urban Agriculture Mapping Project. Often these spaces provide many Chicagoans their first contact with our food system.
Chicago’s Black and Brown communities have long farmed on vacant land and in backyard gardens to fight the environmental injustices and disparities they face in terms of food access and disinvestment. Although the total number of supermarkets increased city-wide between 2007 and 2014, access to produce actually worsened in Black and low-income communities, according to a 2018 study.
This summer, one team of City Bureau fellows is looking into urban agriculture—in particular, BIPOC farmers on Chicago’s South and West Sides. To understand them, we also wanted to understand their customers. So our team visited several farmers markets to chat with shoppers about their food, why they go to farmers markets and what they want to know about their produce.
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We met Donovan Rush, 37, at the Austin Town Hall City Market. He lives in Kenwood and is the owner of Soul Elixir fresh pressed juices.
What attracts you to this farmers market?
I heard that they were providing fresh produce, and I make a lot of cold-pressed juices myself so I immediately jumped to come and support. I want to support farmers markets in communities like this so they can thrive and provide fresh produce.
Is price a determining factor in where you buy your produce?
No, not at all. You know, a cheeseburger costs less than a salad, but that's just the reality we have to deal with. I feel like you shouldn't put a price tab on your health. Paying for a gym membership is paying for your health. It is more expensive, but it'll help you out in the long run.
Was that an entry point for you to really love fresh and organic produce?
Growing up with my grandmother was definitely the entry point for that. Freezing greens in the winter so we always had produce to eat. Now, I understand the benefits of greens as a superfood.
Is it important for you to know where your food comes from?
Yes, for almost everything—it’s hard but I'm getting there. The main thing with produce I worry about is pesticides. I want to know how farms handle pesticides and keep the bugs out naturally.
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Kevin Carney, 68, lives in Oak Park, close to the border with Austin. He comes to the farmers market for the sense of community.
What makes you choose this farmers market?
Since I was new in the neighborhood, I thought this was a good way just to get to know the Austin community and meet new people. I like to support businesses. I was out walking one day and I just stumbled upon this space—I didn't know of its existence, but it was the kind of place I was looking for.
Would you say the quality is different than your local grocer?
My local grocery is the big supermarket, so this is much better. It’s fresher, but I also enjoy the conversation. They’re always friendly because they’re dependent upon getting new business so they actually talk to the customers. I love the conversation and the food. The prices are maybe a little higher, but I think the human connection is worth it.
I would like to see more people come here from not only Austin, but from across the border in Oak Park. I wish more Oak Parkers would cross that border and come to see what they have to offer over here. This is the place to come to get produce and support the local entrepreneurs.
What do you think the role of a garden is in a city like Chicago?
I think it's a good way to make the place more beautiful and to attract local people to learn about growing and where food comes from and learn about gardening. Not only that, it’s fun and educational.
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At the Bronzeville City Market we met KC, a 33-year-old local resident, as well as Nick and Debbie Diaz, who live on the East Side.
What brings you to the farmers market today?
KC: I read about it in our alderman’s weekly newsletter, and just said I need to come over here and support within our neighborhood. We want to keep this stuff here.
Nick: If we pass by a farmers market, we'll see what they have to offer, mainly for the fruits and veggies.
What do you like most about farmers markets?
KC: The fact that it is local.
Nick: That it's fresh, we know that they grew it and it's coming straight to the people. And we are helping the community out.
Are you interested in growing your own food?
KC: No other people do that for a living. I'm gonna let them do what they do.
Debbie: Yes, I do. Okay, what he [Nick] does: peppers, tomatoes, zucchini. Awesome, awesome vegetables.
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At the Garfield Ridge Farmers Market, we spoke with Christine, 47, whose brother-in-law was a vendor there. Christine said she previously ran a farmers market in her neighborhood of Bridgeport.
What role do you think that urban farms should play in Chicago?
I think there's a lot of potential. There's definitely a need for it and a clientele. But I don't know, I was worried about like, a rodent problem growing inside the city. So I'd rather have the farms be outside of the urban area. Yeah, I think there's definitely a need and a draw.
You mentioned that you ran a farmers market in Bridgeport that’s no longer around. What happened?
It’s just not easy to run a farmers market. You need somebody who's going to coordinate and advertise. And the sellers need to attend the event every week and make a commitment. So even though Bridgeport is a very, very prosperous neighborhood, and the market should have done really well, it didn't.
I think you need to have the city get involved to support that event, because it can't be just the community. We're busting our butts, spending a lot of money on overhead, and there's no financing either. So the only way you would get that would be the funds you raise from the sellers, and you don't want to overcharge them, because then they don't want to come.
What do farmers markets mean to these urban farmers?
If you're a small farmer, or like an urban farm, trying just to survive, where are you going to sell your stuff if not at a farmers market? You're not gonna get a contract with Jewel or Mariano’s. Yeah, so this is really their only outlet. It's good that they're around.
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At Pullman City Market, we met three people who originally came to Chicago from the South (Mississippi and Alabama), including Luther Hopkins, 55. Hopkins has been visiting this market for seven or eight years.
What’s your favorite item at this market?
Well, I like the watermelons mainly and I like greens. I'm a country boy. So I like to have a garden almost every year. This is the best way to eat—freshly grown, no pesticides or any of that type of stuff. You know, just the real deal.
You mentioned that you have your own garden. How did you learn, and what do you grow now?
I came up in the South. We had to work in the garden. You ever heard of Macon, Mississippi? When people are coming up and they're poor, they work in a garden. And then they freeze the vegetables in freezer bags, and that's what they eat off of all winter. So it was a chore like a job that I didn't like but now I love it.
Now I have cucumbers, little hot chili peppers, yellow tomatoes, grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, steak tomatoes. We eat a lot of green tomatoes and a lot of squash, collard greens and turnips. You can let the collards grow all summer and then in September when the frost hits them, then good to eat.
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Madeira Orr, 84, was raised on a farm in Mississippi and now lives in Roseland, where she raised two daughters.
What brings you to the farmers market today?
I started coming every two, three weeks in the summer months when they are here. Whenever I think I want something very fresh. I have kale, Roman beans, tomatoes and cabbage sprouts today.
You mentioned that you grew up on a farm?
My father grew everything he had. When I was a small child, he had cotton. I left Mississippi in 1956. But my parents never left.
Did you notice that people bring like garden or farming culture with them when they left
Mississippi and came up to Chicago?
They brought it in their minds. You couldn't bring the instruments to do it with, but they knew how to do it. I would put out tomato plants. I put running beans on the fence. And three, two years ago, I had three collard plants. They got huge. Yeah, but that's it—at age 84, I’m not gardening anymore. This is good enough. I'm here ready to cook.
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Lisa H. Morton, 68, lives in Beverly and goes to a few different farmers markets in the city.
Are you familiar with any community gardens or urban farms?
No. Not where I live. But when I was a kid my father used to, on Saturdays or Sundays, he would take us way out [where] people would be out in the fields picking strawberries, tomatoes, you know, greens and stuff. And he would buy vegetables.
Where was your father from?
Pigeon Creek, Alabama.
Why do you like coming here?
First, it reminds me of the old days with my parents. You sit there, pick string beans and tomato, peas, and all that. Yes, I like to buy zucchini, squash, rutabagas, eggplant, stuff like that. Because I'm sick of fast food. I don't like it at all. It doesn't have a taste to it.
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