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Mackenzie Selke
Local farmers markets are closed. Snow covers the fields. Local farmers are now busy sourcing seeds and planning for spring planting, dreaming of 2023.
But Boulder County farmers also take orders for vegetables, grains, legumes, and herbs. So do the local artisans who make everything from pork to hot sauce to pasta. In both cases, the people behind the food sell beautiful things through his store online at his County Farmers Market in Boulder.
At the same time, the store provides people across the region with an easy route to eating local produce all year round, not just during the growing season. With our online store, every dollar you spend on minestrone pots, pozole bowls and Sunday roast ingredients stays where they belong in Boulder County. As we enter 2023, with a personal purpose in mindfulness and a commitment to strengthening our community, now is the perfect time to stop by the BCFM online store.
It wasn’t that long ago that smallholder farmers often earned just enough to survive the cold weather during an exhausting, demanding and long growing season. For example, a reporter friend recently told me about a family Chilean business in Pueblo that he wrote about. My son, who is in his 40s, had to create multiple streams of income, from a corn maze to a pumpkin patch to a year-round store. After the annual harvest, the work did not stop. His father reported spending winters playing poker with him and other farmer friends for decades when he ran the farm. His father lamented how hard his son had to work to keep the Chilean farm alive.
The same is true for our beloved Boulder County farmers. Winter doesn’t mean long vacations to the tropics or hanging out for weeks and playing poker parades. For them, winter means finding other ways to pay the bills.
For many, the Boulder County Farmers Market online store provides a valuable source of income during the off-season, while also enriching the diets of the community and attracting those wishing to eat local food in January and July. We support this.
For example, today, visitors to online farmers markets can buy lettuce from Altius Farms, arugula from Black Cat Organic Farm, pork from SkyPilot Farm, beets from Jolly Radish, mushrooms from Hazel Dell Mushrooms, tofu from Colorado Sun Tofu, and tempeh from Project. You can earn Umami, Cornflower from Bow & Arrow, Pumpkin Pecan Vegan Ice Cream from Best One Yet Vegan, Blackberry Sage Kombucha from 3rd Bird Kombucha, and many more. With the exception of fresh field-grown peppers and cucumbers, much of what farmers bring to farmers markets is now on virtual shelves and crates in online stores.
At the traditional Boulder County Farmers Market, all local produce is in one place, and customers walk the market aisles to pick the onions, herbs and mushrooms they need for their evening risotto.
Online markets are different. Customers first order from your online store. Then, arrive at spots in Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette, and Denver on select days for curbside pickup of local treasures purchased directly from farmers. Then they start a batch of mushroom risotto.
For those passionate about supporting agriculture and food craftsmanship in Boulder County, the Boulder County Farmers Market online store provides direct links to the many farms and artisans who call the county home throughout the community. is offered to In-person market shopping won’t resume until his Saturday, April 1 this year, but the farmer himself isn’t going anywhere. Help preserve the ecosystem and preserve the bounty of our county’s breathtaking open spaces.
We look forward to serving you in the months leading up to the official start of the 2023 Farmers Market season. Community members who shop at the online store will also discover a thrilling marketplace packed with local delicacies.
Mackenzie Sehlke is Executive Director of Boulder County Farmers Markets.
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