Helen Korneffel
Joan Nelson, executive director of Allen Neighborhood Center, spends her time at the farmers market socializing with vendors and visitors, making sure everything goes smoothly. “The market has grown enormously over the years,” said Nelson. “The outdoor market, as well as the indoor market, is a happening. We have featured nonprofits in the market, and we also have live music every week. Coming to the market is intended to be a good time.”
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Helen Korneffel
Peter Keay works on Green Eagle Farm, one of the vendors who sells produce and other products at the Allen Farmers Market. “Our display really seems like a museum of different varieties of fruits and vegetables — some I have never seen before,” Keay said. “It’s really a wonderful world of discovery at Green Eagle Farms.”
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Helen Korneffel
Vendors other than farmers, like Fellowship for Today Spiritual Center, also sell products at the farmers market. The spiritual center came to the market Oct. 10 to sell its “happy pumpkins.” Their pumpkins were a timely piece to sell at the market because of the harvest season and the upcoming shift from fall to winter. “We made these happy pumpkins because we’re a group of very happy people,” said Debora Plichta, of Fellowship for Today. “We wanted to come out and celebrate the fall market at the Allen Farmers Market.”
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Helen Korneffel
Rosanne and Joel Brouwer are frequent visitors to the Allen Farmers Market. “We love coming to the market because it is close to our neighborhood, and we like the organic, fresh produce,” Rosanne Brouwer said. “The pleasant, local farmers keep us coming back,” Joel Brouwer said.
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Helen Korneffel
Vendors spend time setting up their booths a few hours before people begin to arrive so they have everything in place. “The alternative to us having markets like this is Amazon will start having markets, and there’s no community in that,” said Peter Keay of Green Eagle Farm. “There’s a real benefit to society when people come together.”
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Helen Korneffel
Colorful spreads at the market are not hard to find. Farms like the Urbandale Farm display their produce and other goods. “The Allen Farmers Market is really wonderful,” Urbandale Farm marketing manager Ryan Whelpley said. “If you’re looking to start a meal, this is where you want to come because it’s not like everyone is selling onions and lettuce. Every vendor is offering something different.”
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Helen Korneffel
The Allen Farmers Market became the first market in Michigan to accept food stamps in 2005. Customers with food stamps, Bridge Cards and even those who only have their credit card can come to the market’s bank where they are given food tokens. Kelli Yokom is an intern at the Allen Neighborhood Center and runs the market bank every Wednesday. “What we do at the market is really cool,” Yokom said. “We’ll double up to $20, so if the person takes $20 off their Bridge Card, they actually get $40 and only $20 is coming out of their account.”
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Allen Farmers Market vendors have moved indoors to sell their products.
Because of this shift, residents can continue to access fresh produce and other products during the cold months. The market on Lansing’s east side operates outdoors through Oct. 31.
This shift first started in 2013, when the Allen Neighborhood Center underwent expansion to create an indoor marketplace. The center established the farmers market in 2004 to help area residents access produce and other locally processed foods, as well as offer small local farmers and artisans a market for their goods. It became the first farmers market became the first in Michigan to accept food stamps in 2005.
“We were particularly excited about the prospect of having a year-round farmers market,” said Joan Nelson, executive director of Allen Neighborhood Center. “There are 25 farmers markets in mid-Michigan, but only three of us are year-round. Many of our farmers have hoop houses, and they grow produce year-round. In November and December, and even January, they will have lots of harvest still that they have stored.”
During the peak of the season, the farmers market will draw 900 to 1,000 people, every Wednesday, and those numbers numbers drop to between 400 and 600 people in the later months of the year. The market is open every Wednesday with hours of operation dependant on the season.