Organizing a farmers market is no easy task, but the people in Ogden do it right. Their goal is to “Strive to provide awareness of, and access to, local agriculture while utilizing vendors, musicians, artists, and community partners to create an inclusionary culture of urban arts and community engagement. The Farmers Market Ogden series acts as a community drawing board for urban development and reflects a large economic impact annually.” (From the Farmers Market Ogden website.)

Last year saw a reduction in the size of the venue and the number of people visiting the market due to COVID. But this year, everything and everyone is back. The market will be open every Saturday on Historic 25th Street from 8 am to 1 pm. 

We spoke with three of the vendors: 

Better Food Farm — Tyson Lloyd

Tyson Lloyd, from Better Food Farm, is back for his third season at Farmers Market Ogden. His favorite thing about being there, “Other than the customers is, I have a lot of fun interacting with the other vendors.” He described it as having the “camaraderie of a weird traveling circus.” He loves the commitment of the Ogden community, who he says are “passionate about supporting local businesses.”

Tyson primarily sells vegetables such as mixed greens, lettuces, carrots, radishes, and turnips, along with herbs, and this year, for the first time, pasture-raised eggs.

Sunshine Family Farms — Daniel Jenkins

Daniel Jenkins from Sunshine Family Farms, back for his fifth season, enjoys interacting with the other growers at the Ogden market. He says, “The benefit of coming back for multiple seasons is that you get to know people. The customers come back year after year.” He also likes the Ogden market  because it is close to home for him. “A few minutes drive and I am there.” 

Daniel sells a wide variety of vegetables including 50 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. He also features summer squash, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, beets, turnips, rutabagas, broccoli, peppers, and eggplant. He offers salad greens such as arugula, kale, and tatsoi, something he describes as, “kind of a leafy green bok choy that can be used as a substitute for spinach.”

Rounding out his selection are herbs, flowers and microgreens from sunflowers, radishes, and more. 

He is happy the market will be back to more of a normal year. He says, “Last year, fewer people came, but they were the dedicated ones who came to buy. This year, there are a lot more coming. There are a lot more opportunities. It feels like normal.” 

Woodyatt Cherry Farms — Dan Woodyatt

Dan Woodyatt started bringing his cherry products to the Farmers Market Ogden in 2017. He also does the farmers markets in Salt Lake, Murray and Park City. He loves the Ogden market because, he explains, “I hear music all the time in Ogden and not anywhere else. It is more of a community farmers market and Salt Lake doesn’t feel like that. Everybody is there to have fun.”

Besides his Woodyatt Cherry Farms cherry juice concentrate, Dan also offers 18-ounce bottles of ready-to-drink cherry juice that “sell like crazy at the Ogden Market.” He also offers dried cherries, cherry jam, and frozen pitted pie cherries. 

Dan is looking forward to a great season this year. “Oh my Gosh, you don’t even know. No masks! My first two weeks in 2021 have been my best two weeks in five years. Everyone is coming out. It was so crowded. People just want to get out and do things.”

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