With the Summer season wrapped up, farmers market managers and food access leaders in Mahoning and Trumbull Counties are finally taking a breath and taking a chance to reflect on the summer as well as the past year of their work. For some this means a pause of the work for the time being and preparation for the next cycle. For others the summer only meant the beginning of year round work that will continue. 

Glenwood Fresh Market 

For Glenwood Fresh Market this year marked the beginnings of their year-round operations. The Market opened its door in late spring of 2022 and in its first month alone served 1,191 individuals more than 30,000 pounds of produce. Susan Payton was especially happy with the personal feedback she has received from their members. She said she has people come in raving about how the food from the market has allowed them to better control their chronic health conditions and lower their cholesterol as well as other benefits

 

Glenwood Fresh Market serves households living under the 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or people who are SNAP recipients. It provides

 FREE fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods to residents who qualify. They also provide health screenings, nutrition literacy courses, cooking demonstrations, and other benefits to members. 

 

Warren Farmers Market 

The Warren Farmers Market ended their season at the end of the

summer and they are in the process of taking a breath and reflecting back on their

2022 season. Lydia Walls, Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership’s Program Coordinator, said she was very proud of their new program called Power of Produce Kids Club that she ran this summer at the market. The program helped kids try new fruits and vegetables and provided them with 2 dollars to

spend at the market on any other produce they wanted. This summer they had over 100 kids participate in the program.

Lydia was also excited that over half of their sales this summer were on produce.

Recently Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership announced on Facebook that it was 58% of their sales that went to produce a truly exciting number for an organization with the goal of increasing the amount of healthy foods that people have access to.

 

Howland Farmers Market

Howland Farmers Market finished their summer

 season out in mid October. They will be beginning a Winter Market season in early November and will be at the Howland SCOPE every 1st and 3rd Saturday from 10AM – 1PM until May 2023. One success for them this year is that in late 2021 began a video project called Howland Farmers Market Test Kitchen. There you can find recipes using produce bought at the farmers market to help give their customers ideas for delicious dishes they can make wish food bought at the market. The channel continues to post consistently throughout 2022. 

Howland Farmers Market Test Kitchen Video

B&O Market 

After years of dormancy the B&O Night Market returned this past June and was held every 1st and 3rd Thursday until the end of the Summer. The market welcomed a variety of vendors who provided local vegetables, desserts, and art during the Market. The Market also hosted Yoga classes, music, and food demonstrations to help provide education and entertainment at the Night Market. The B&O Market hopes to open next year with even more vendors and looks forward to potentially staying open even later in the year than they did this year. 

Hubbard Farmers Market

Hubbard Farmers Market’s last week this year was at the end of September. During their season they held live Music at the market,

gave out tokens that could be used at the market for purchases, held a pet contest, had spotlight restaurant drawings and much more

 to draw folks to the Farmers Market.

 Hubbard Farmers Market is going strong and had a great season. 

Mahoning Food Access Coordinator: Jubilee Gardens and the Urban Wellness Market

This summer was an exciting summer for the Mahoning Valley Food Access Coordinator. At the Jubilee Gardens gardening classes were held all summer on topics like Urban foraging, the basics of seed starting for late crops, herb and indoor growing, and gardening mindfulness. The Food Access Coordinator was  also about to hold several urban wellness Markets at Gene’s Market throughout the Summer. Sophia Buggs, the Mahoning Food Access Coordinator, said this season was also much longer than last year for them. They had access to the land at Jubilee Gardens much longer and as a result people are also able to be there far more consistently and are asking more for events and markets because of that presence they have been able to have.

 

The Mahoning Valley Mobile Market 

ACTION of Mahoning Valley and Flying High unveiled the new Mahoning Valley Mobile Market in late April and started selling produce May 10th of this year. The Market continues to drive all over the Valley selling fresh produce at least three times a week. The Mobile Market accepts SNAP, Senior Perks, and Debit and Credit cards for payment. The market visits senior centers, festivals, libraries, and more! ACTION has been sharing meals made by their customers and stories on their Facebook page sharing the value that this market has brought to the community. 

The Mahoning Valley Mobile Market schedule can be found posted weekly on ACTION of Mahoning Valley’s Facebook Page. 

Three Food Access Leaders Reflections Partner Spotlight Video

Photos from Markets and Food Access Events