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DEEMED ESSENTIAL BY THE STATE, FARMERS MARKETS AROUND NORTH MISSISSIPPI GIVE GROWERS A PLACE TO SELL RIPE PRODUCE, HANDCRAFTED GOODS AND MORE. WRITTEN BY MICHAEL A GIBSON MORRIS
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s summer begins, the bounty of northeast Mississippi will be ripe for the picking. Fresh from the field, fruits and vegetables will be as close as your local farmers market. “You can get locally grown produce straight from the field,” said Braddock Brawner, who helps oversee the Corinth Farmers Market No. 1 on Shiloh Road, which has been in existence for more than 30 years. “That’s the beauty of it.” Through the summer and into the fall, Corinth farmer Dee Suitor expects to have tomatoes, peas, green beans, okra, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkins for sale at both the Shiloh Road market and the other Corinth market on Fulton Drive. The growing season started early in the new year for Suitor, thanks to his greenhouse. Although the fields were too wet for planting in late February, Suitor was already working on spring and summer crops. Tomatoes were growing in his greenhouse with hopes of satisfying customers hungry for the first ripe tomatoes of the season. This year — perhaps more than ever — local farmers and small business vendors selling goods at the markets will appreciate the support of those hungry customers.
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Hyper Local Farmers markets are distinct from roadside produce stands. Hosted by nonprofit or government agencies, they bring together multiple local producers. In north Mississippi, farmers markets are primarily sponsored by Main Street associations and county extension service offices. To be sold at the markets, fruits and vegetables must be locally produced by the farmers. Under the guidelines governing farmers markets, the vendors can’t resell produce grown elsewhere. So, on opening day, don’t expect to find late summer vegetables that haven’t had time yet to grow in north Mississippi, said Craig Helmuth, assistant market manager for Tupelo Farmers Depot, which started in 1999. Not everything from the grocery store produce section translates for local farmers markets. “Nobody here grows bananas or oranges,” Helmuth said. The rules about what can be sold at farmers markets can vary. The Corinth farmers markets focus solely on produce. Many allow homemade canned goods and baked goods. The markets in Pontotoc
