Mesa’s Eastmark Farmers Market is moving into its autumn schedule as cooler temperatures bring renewed interest from shoppers and stallholders.
The final weekend of September marked the end of the market’s summer hours, with vendors preparing for larger crowds as the weather becomes more manageable in the Arizona city.
From October through April, the market is scheduled to open on Saturdays from 8am to noon at Eastmark Great Park on Eastmark Parkway. During the warmer months, it operates from 7am to 11am.
Seasonal produce comes to the Eastmark Farmers Market
Nichole Zahorka, the market manager, said the event had become a gathering place for residents from Eastmark and surrounding neighbourhoods, offering everything from bread, meat and cheese to fresh produce and pantry goods.
“The farmers market is great for the community,” she said. “It’s a great place to shop local and meet new people.”
Alaina Hicks, of Steadfast Farm, welcomed the change in conditions after a summer of intense heat.
“It is beautiful. I am ecstatic that it’s under 100 degrees the whole day out here,” she said.
Steadfast Farm, a two-acre urban farm, grows its produce using organic practices. Its selection changes with the seasons, with microgreens, lettuce and flowers giving way to crops including broccoli and cauliflower as temperatures fall.
Hicks said the farm grows more than 23 varieties of produce, with planting, harvesting and packaging carried out by hand.
Both market representatives encouraged shoppers to buy from local producers, arguing that doing so helps sustain small businesses, local jobs and the wider community.
Zahorka said the market allowed customers to support the ambitions of people building their own businesses, while Hicks said locally produced food travelled less and could be fresher and better for the environment.
The Eastmark Farmers Market is free to attend and open to the public each Saturday.
