Family Atmosphere At Midtown Farmers' Market Brings Community And Vendors Together

The Midtown Farmers’ Market offers more than just fresh fruits, vegetables, jams, and several other food items. This market provides a laid back environment that allows community members to get together every Wednesday and Saturday.
Many of the vendors that work at the market have continued to do so for several years, and show no signs of slowing down. 
Marty Bost has been with the Midtown Farmers’ Market for 17 years and works diligently to provide his customers with the freshest watermelon he can grow.
“I grow a variety of types,” Bost said, “the Crimson is sweet, and I’ve been growing it for a long time. It’s probably my best one because it’s really sweet and juicy. It just seems like when hot weather gets here the people crave it.”
Even when facing unpredictable weather at times, Bost does not let this hinder the time and effort he puts into producing watermelon each week.
“I just try to plant a lot,” Bost said, “this year has been hard because of a lot of rain, it’s hard to keep the fields clean with weeds and grass.”
Bost constantly works through these circumstances so that he can earn a living. However, Bost is not only a returning vendor for the profits; he enjoys meeting new faces each year. His favorite part about working this market is meeting everybody and the relationships he’s developed over the years.
Similarly to Bost, another vendor, Tristan Morton, with Cherry Creek Orchards from Pontotoc has been working at this market for five years. Morton’s experiences with customers and other vendors at the market are what continue to draw her back each year.
“This [market] is more family oriented than other ones I’ve been to, and so, everyone’s really nice, and that’s what I like about it,” Morton said.
The vendors’ tents are set up in a way that makes communicating with one another and locating familiar faces simple. Several vendors are acquainted with each other because it’s often the same ones that continuously return to work each week.
“I know just about everybody that comes up here,” Morton said. “I know all of them, and they’ll take care of me if they need to.”
Vendors are not the only ones who enjoy building relationships through this market. Many customers consider new friendships and relationships to be a big reason that they continue to return to the market. Customer Pat McClure-Smith, not only enjoys the vegetables that Bost Farms has to offer, but she too has met several people through her weekly visits to the market.
“I’ve been coming for a long time, developing friendly visiting type relationships,” McClure-Smith said, “similar to a meet-and-greet.
From the brief encounters to years of friendship, and all the food in between, Midtown Farmers’ market is accessible to anyone through the month of October. The market is open on Wednesdays from 7 a.m. – 12 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. – 11 a.m. in the Midtown Shopping Center on North Lamar Boulevard. 

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Kara Knapik is a student at the Meek School of Journalism. She can be reached at kaknapik@go.olemiss.edu.