The
advent last spring of the Houston Farmer’s Market (HFM), certified
by the Texas Department of Agriculture, provides a new source of
market exposure for producers willing to travel to the Heights area
of Houston on Saturday mornings. Susan Cobb, co-founder and market
manager of the HFM, says, “We started off kind of slow, but
as new growers have showed up, our customer base has increased as
well…. When the market closed in late December for the 2003
season, we were attracting between 200 and 300 customers during
the market’s Saturday morning session.” Some of the
traffic increase may be attributed to Ms. Cobb’s ability to
convince the Houston City Council to amend some of their health
ordinances so prepared food vendors could sample their goods in
an outdoor environment. However, Ms. Cobb goes on to add, “We
have plenty of prepared food vendors, but we are wishing to get
over weighted with local agricultural producers, which is why we
wish to get the word out to the rural areas that producers are needed…..
Whether it be grass fed livestock, aquaculture, garden variety vegetables,
orchard fruit, or whatever, we are optimistic that our diverse customer
base will be interested in high quality agricultural goods from
SE Texas.” When asked more about farm producers, Ms. Cobb
says, “the market was originally begun to attract those that
practice organic methods, but both conventional and sustainable
producers are welcome as well.” One topic Ms. Cobb wishes
to emphasize, “Our customers desire ‘a connection with
their food’ which is why we (HFM) do not allow any produce
brokers.”
With the 2004 season
about to get underway, the HFM is going to let the market evolve
into more of a weekly festive experience, hopefully attracting even
more consumer traffic, via the implementation of kid programs, cooking
presentations by local chefs and possibly live entertainment.
For more information
about the Houston Farmer’s Market take a look at their website
via houstonfarmersmarket.org. A HFM vendors meeting is scheduled
for Saturday, January 24th to discuss the 2004 season. If you are
interested in being a HFM producer/vendor you can contact Susan
Cobb directly at cobbslc@yahoo.com or (713) 524-3138.
