Westside Community Guide

30 – 2022 Westside Community Guide ■ Gravette farmers Market: fresh, healthy, local! About six years ago, the popular Gravette Farmers Market lost the person who had been in charge of running it. Alison Ransom, who worked for the city and had been securing the grants and managing the market since it opened in 2008, was leaving her position. But this being Gravette, a community where members always step up when they are needed, Jack and Beth Patton and a few other local farmers came to the rescue. Since that time, the Gravette Farmers Market has been organized and run by local volunteer farmers who also sell their products at the market. "We have like a co-manager situation and hold meetings throughout the year," Beth Patton explained. "It was a great venue for us to sell what we produce plus we all felt the market had become an important part of the Gravette community." Today, the Gravette Farmers Market has 16 registered vendors who show up on Saturday beginning in mid- to late April through the first freeze in the fall. "We also sometimes have a vendor that might just be there for a weekend," Beth added. "For instance, last year the Benton County Master Gardeners Association came and put up a booth and was handing out informational material about gardening and related topics. Anther example is a vendor who comes only in the spring to sell berries." One thing that sets the Gravette market apart from other farmers markets is that all of the products on sale are locally produced. "We only sell what is produced within a 60-mile radius," Beth said. "So it's not like we're shipping anything in from outside the region. In the spring, you get what grows here in the spring like spinach, onions and radishes and the cold crops like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Whatever is seasonal, whatever is grown at the time, is what you will find at the market." All of the farmers who sell vegetables are signed up with the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program that provides extra help to underserved young mothers. e market also participates in a senior nutrition program. "Allison helped sign us up for both the WIC and senior programs before she le," Beth said. "In doing so we're able to ensure more people have access to the locally grown produce who may not have been able to afford it." Beth and Jack own Patton Farms and have been a vendor at the Gravette Farmers Market since the beginning. ey moved to their farm in 1993. ey grow grass-fed Angus beef and pork plus have a big garden. "We sell meat at the market," Beth said. "We go to a USDA butcher and comply with all Arkansas health department rules and regulations." Beth says they try to keep the vendors varied so customers have more to choose from when they come. McBride Apiary, for instance, sells their locally produced, award- winning honey at the Gravette Farmers Market. "A lot of people claim to sell locally grown honey but it is really from out of the area," Beth said. "is is honey produced just about seven or eight miles away from the site of the market. People just love it!" e Gravette Farmers Market is located in the pavilion at 110 Park Drive in Gravette. e space was built with grant funds the city received from the USDA Farmers Market Promotional Program. e market generates about 200 visitors every Saturday. Most Saturdays you will be entertained by a string band that is set up and playing usually by around 10 a.m. It's fun for the whole family, and a great opportunity to get your hands on some locally grown products.

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