Every Wednesday at 4 p.m., Bo Diddley Plaza becomes alive with booths, dogs, people and a wide variety of food for sale. Since I was a freshman, I’ve known about the Union Street Farmers Market, but I never found the time to go. This past Wednesday was different because I actually made time to go (despite having an exam the next day), and it’s been on my graduation bucket list that I wrote about earlier this school year.
Since I usually have a metallurgy lab that ends at 5 p.m. and needed to pick up my dog, Banshee, I showed up when the farmers market was in full swing. People were walking around, searching for the freshest produce and any other food that they wanted to take home. All this was happening with live music being played on the Bo Diddley Plaza stage. Energy filled the air. Banshee and I were excited to explore.
The first booth that I encountered was selling hot sauce and different colored fresh eggs, including green. Seeing as I had both already in abundance at home, I moved on to the Glades Ridge Dairy booth that sells its own dairy products and carried a wide variety of delicious goat cheese. I even bought myself some goat cheese.
After talking with some other booths, I find out that Glades Ridge is one of the longest selling booths at the market, claiming its sport for about nine years. It’s in Union County, which is north of Alachua County. “We have a farm, and our farm produces meat, milk and other products,” said Joe, one of its vendors. “In order for us to make use of all of those products, we offer them to people at the farmers market. It’s a midweek market that’s directed toward the university, which makes it a good market.”
It was interesting to hear why they sell at the market, making me see it differently. As I perused through the booths, I saw a nice mixture of college-aged students as well as other Gainesville locals. I realized that having a market like this in downtown Gainesville is a great resource for students. We can get farm fresh foods and meet the people growing them, unlike buying them at a Publix or another grocery chain. It also provides options for students who want to buy more in organic and sustainable produce by actually talking to the farmers.
Trying new foods at each both was the most fun. One booth sold microgreens, which are the sprouts and shoots of different vegetables. I got to try pea shoots, mustard roots and other small greens. I ended up buying a lot of these, so I can eat it with dinner. Also, a meat vendor gave my dog a treat, and I bought two pounds of pig neck bones for her. The meat vendor also told me how to prepare the neck bones, kindly answering any questions I had. Banshee was just one among several other dogs at the market. Most of the vendors loved seeing her. It was nice being able to hang out with my dog while getting groceries. Banshee also loved having people pet her.
The thing about a farmers market is that you will be tempted to buy a lot of stuff, which happened to me. There were many wares that I had never seen before like microgreens, fresh goat cheese and kimchi from a Korean catering company at the market. The smells from the fresh food will tempt you to buy it instantly. I smelled fresh strawberries, and I bought them because they smelled so good—even though strawberries aren’t always on my shopping list. If you go, make sure you have enough money, and bring cash. I was worried for a bit because the Square payment system that a lot of the vendors used went down temporarily, and I was running out of cash. It all worked out when the system came back on soon after.
All in all, I highly recommend making the Union Street Farmers Market a part of your life every once in a while. It’s great to give back to your community by buying from local farmers, and it’s a very pleasant experience. I’m already planning to go again.