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Downtown Phoenix Public Market, By Sharon Salomon
December 2007
Article Reprinted with permission from Phoenix Downtown Magazine
When I moved to Phoenix some 30 years ago, small farms surrounded our West Phoenix neighborhood. We used to buy fruits and vegetables from a farmer-owned produce stand a few blocks from our house. I appreciated buying directly from the person who had grown the food. There was a certain charm to knowing that the farmer from whom I was buying had personally picked the corn I was serving for dinner that night. Unfortunately, those small farms are long gone, replaced by strip malls and houses.
read full article click on picture for full view

February 2007 : KOY radio says
2nd Anniversary review:

January 24, 2007 : Review
Arizona Republic; Food and Drink
What’s big? Sprigs; Fresh herbs liven up foods, and it’s easy to grow your own. “Herbs are really easy,” says Maya Dailey, owner of Maya’s at the Farm. She sells her herbs at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market and at the Farm on Saturday mornings.

August 8, 2006 : Review
ChowHound published comments
Husband and I woke up in the mood for a field trip this morning….

March 3, 2006 : Review
Enjoy reading a detailed review and commentary on the market!
Ongoing: Phoenix Public Market, Arizona Republic at AZCentral.com article

August 13, 2005 : View Market Video VIEW VIDEO, video format Windows Media Player,
high speed internet connect recommendedCelebrating National Farmers Market Week
- Ringing the market opening bell
- Welcome by AZ State Representatives Kyrsten Sinema and David Lujan
- Mayor Phil Gordon and Vice Mayor Michael Johnson
- Councilmen Tom Simplot and Greg Stanton
- Performers Half Way Home

February 28, 2005 : inaugural Saturdays
For immediate release: Phoenix — Contact: Cindy Gentry, Community Food Connections
Phone: 602.493.5231
Fax: 602.296.4255
e-mail: cgentry@foodconnect.org The Downtown Phoenix Public Market Is On – Rain or Shine

“Sorry about the rain, but it’s helping our farmers.” This poster-size sign at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, the city’s newest people-place, reflects the energy and fun of this long-awaited venue and the team that has worked for the last two years to put it together.

Despite two inaugural Saturdays marked by rain, storms, and more rain, the Market has drawn 600 dedicated shoppers each day. The number of vendors on site increased from fourteen on February 12 to twenty-five last weekend. More than twenty-five vendors will be there again Saturday, rain or shine, and every Saturday from now on.

This Saturday, February 26, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Market will feature fresh fruits and vegetables from at least seven local growers: Blue Sky Organics, Crooked Sky Farms, Maya’s Farm, McClendon’s Select, New River Tomatoes, Rogers ‘ Farm and Tolmachoff Farms.

You’ll find the best seasonal produce at the best prices in town – right in your own back yard! Just some of the great items to bring home include baby carrots, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, cilantro, collards, dill, fava beans, golden beets, green onions, mustard, radishes, red leaf lettuce, spinach, sunflower sprouts, swiss chards (red & green), topiary beans, turnip greens and turnips.

Fair-trade coffee, hot tea, fresh-steamed tamales, local bread and pastries, stir fry and low-carb meatballs, hand-made pasta, and bean pies round out the taste treats, while fresh-cut flowers such as calendulas, snapdragons and sunflowers offer a feast for the eyes.

You’ll find the Market on the southeast corner of Central Avenue and McKinley Street . Free parking is available. The Market can accept VISA, MasterCard, Food Stamps and Arizona Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks (and cash is also welcome!)

Beginning March 4, the Downtown Phoenix Public Market will also be a part of First Fridays, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Market Team Partners include: Representatives from the Arizona Department of Agriculture, Arizona State University’s Joint Urban Design Program, Community Food Connections, City of Phoenix Downtown Development Office, the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors, Native American Connections, the Phoenix Community Alliance, Phoenix Revitalization Corporation, the Arizona Community Farmers Market Association, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and the US Department of Agriculture.

Market Benefactors have generously contributed time, expertise and resources as follows:
Property Owner: Kurt Schneider, L.D. Schneider & Associates; Audio Systems: Mark Temen, Audio Video Resources ; Engineering Consultants: Roger Baele, Laura Culler, Boyce O’Brien, David Evans & Associates; Bryan Salt, Paragon Structural Design; Rick Ireland, PSI; Equipment Storage: Rusty Chepeus, Southwestern Litho; Grading and Site Preparation: John Ames, Mike Finn, Jeff Williamson, Ames Construction; with thanks to Bo Calbert, Julie Stanton, McCarthy Building Company; Graphic Design: Erik Karvonen, Vector Creative; Gravel: Russell Bowers, Steve Trussell, Arizona Rock Products Association, Rinker Materials, Salt River Materials Group, Madison Granite ; Market Bell: Bill Callaway, Phoenix Forge; Printing and Consultation: Kendra Cea, Theresa DeValle, Marty Shultz, APS; Nydia Cortez , Phoenix Revitalization Corporation; Project Architect: Dan Hoffman , Studio Ma and Arizona State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design; Stage: City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation; Tent: Phoenix Civic Plaza. We also want to thank the City of Phoenix Downtown Development Office , Phoenix Civic Plaza , Parks and Recreation Department, Planning Department and Development Services for their tremendous support and service.

• Slower food at Phoenix Public Market
• Phoenix Public Market Urban Grocery and Wine Bar opens
• http://www.azcentral.com/ (go to Community tab, 4th row)

When I moved to Phoenix some 30 years ago, small farms surrounded our West Phoenix neighborhood. We used to buy fruits and vegetables from a farmer-owned produce stand a few blocks from our house. I appreciated buying directly from the person who had grown the food. There was a certain charm to knowing that the farmer from whom I was buying had personally picked the corn I was serving for dinner that night. Unfortunately, those small farms are long gone, replaced by strip malls and houses.

You’ve probably heard that buying local is good for the economy because it supports local business, that it’s good for the environment because the food is usually produced in a more ecologically friendly manner and that it’s good for you because the food is fresher and contains more nutrients. Although the concept of offering locally grown foods has caught the attention of some of the big-box stores, the produce sold there is much like the stores themselves – grown on a large, commercial (and somewhat impersonal) farm. If you want fresh food at reasonable prices sold in a friendly atmosphere, then you’re going to love shopping at one of the many farmers markets around the Valley.

My favorite of the local markets is the Downtown Phoenix Public Market (www.foodconnect.org/phoenixmarket), a year-round farmers market in downtown Phoenix. It’s just a fun place to visit – the vendors are friendly, the produce is fresh, the prepared foods are wonderful and there’s plenty of parking. The market offers crafts and prepared foods as well as farm-fresh produce.

Cindy Gentry, executive director of Community Food Connection (www.foodconnect.org), a non-profit established to alleviate hunger and create food sufficiency for low-income households in Arizona, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the market. Cindy is always at the market making sure the vendors have everything they need. Her daily presence ensures the market operates smoothly. Who wouldn’t want to shop where the CEO is on-site all the time?

Currently, the outdoor market is open Wednesday evenings from 4 to 8 pm and Saturdays from 8 am to 1 pm. However, the plan is for the market to expand into an adjacent 4,000-square-foot enclosed space sometime in 2008. The proposed expanded market will be much like a grocery store except it will offer locally grown foods as well as prepared foods with a community connection. The market will continue to operate in the outdoor space on Wednesday evenings and Saturdays even after the indoor space becomes active.

The shoppers at the Downtown Phoenix Market come from all over the Valley, with strong support from the nearby historic communities as well as local business people. The draw of the market is not just fresh and local, but also friendly and unique. Besides finding something to eat while you’re walking around and something to cook at home, you will be treated to music by one of the many local musicians who appear regularly at the market. While you wander the stalls, you’ll be amazed at the quality of crafts offered for sale. Many of them are uniquely “Arizona,” created by local artisans from local materials.

It’s always a good idea to bring your own recyclable bags when you shop the market, although the vendors all have bags if you’ve forgotten yours. The best way to shop the market is to enter from the parking lot and just walk around before making any purchases – you never know what you’re going to find. A great benefit to buying directly from the grower/producer is that you can sample before you purchase. The vendors are eager for you to taste their fare. Sample the olive oil from Queen Creek Olive Oil Mill and the chocolates from Wei of Chocolate; sniff some soaps from Emelmahae Soap Company and check out the sun catchers from Alley Cat Art Studio. Eat a bowl of soup from Sapna Chill Out Café (you won’t be sorry) while you check out the farm-fresh eggs, freshly made cheeses, butter and honey. Buy seedlings – propagated in our desert climate – to replant in your own garden.

I’ve got my favorites. My friends and I are all addicted to Belinda’s Pickles – the spicy ones with the whole jalapenos in the jar. We bring them as gifts to dinner parties and eat them straight out of the jar as snacks. Fresh eggs. I cannot say enough about the taste of fresh eggs. Frozen lasagna made without noodles. I don’t know how you can make lasagna without noodles, but it’s pretty tasty. I love the jams and jellies, especially the ones spiked with chili peppers. Fresh cheeses, fresh butter, fresh tortillas. You’ll taste the difference fresh makes!
Shopping at a farmers market demands a certain flexibility. If you’re looking for fresh tomatoes in January, you may very well be disappointed. Go to the market with an open mind. Be willing to taste and ask questions. Remember that the vendors are small business people subject to the vagaries of weather and personal events that may prevent them from offering their usual items for sale each and every week.

If you get tired, sit down and listen to the music for a while. People watch. Relax. It’s that kind of place. And after you’ve had your fill of the market, you can go across the street for a very tasty meal at Matt’s Big Breakfast. Most of Matt’s food is made with locally sourced ingredients, bought from some of the same framers who sell at the market.

Due to the light rail construction, the easiest way to approach the market is from the east, turning west on McKinley. Park in the gravel lot adjacent to the market, just east of Central Avenue.

December 2007
Reprinted with permission from Phoenix Downtown Magazine.

Expansion plans for the Downtown Phoenix Public Market; Video interview featuring Community Food Connections Executive Director, Cindy Gentry and Maya Dailey of Maya’s Farm, Board member of Community Food Connections and Don Keuth President of The Phoenix Community Alliance.

Video provided courtesy
The City Public Information Office
Phoenix Channel 11
www.phoenix.gov/11

Everything offered for sale at the Market is grown or made by the person selling it and the more ingredients that come from Arizona and the southwest the better. A limited amount of produce will be brought by the farmer from other Arizona farms – feel free to talk to them about where their produce comes from and their growing practices. Open since February 2005 the Market is a natural gathering place that celebrates neighborhoods and the neighbors. It offers an eclectic high-quality mix of:

• Fresh in-season fruits and vegetables, produce, flowers, jams, baked goods, dried beans, free-range eggs and honey
• Live plants and unique local arts and crafts
• Tasty hot foods, music and more

The Downtown Phoenix Public Market:

• Creates new and alternative outlets for Arizona growers and producers.
• Expands access to nutritious and locally produced foods for low-income children and adults.
• Brings new destinations and neighborhood retail and expanded pedestrian linkages.
• Meets escalating consumer demands for fresh and locally-produced foods. Builds local wealth, jobs and a revitalized community hub for residents of the community in which the market is located.
• Leverages resources for community-based organizations and other food and business related groups.
• Returns the market area to its historic role as a distribution area for Arizona produce/food brokers.