Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier. This month, we are taking a look at Uptown Farmers Market in IL!
Uptown Farmers Market is a wholly independent farmers market run by Kate and her partner (in life and farmers markets) Matthew, sister Sarah and market Manager Justin in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. They focus on fresh locally grown produce, baked goods and more, while also encouraging compost with composting company, Collective Resource Compost Cooperative. Biobag Associate spoke to Kate, owner of Uptown Farmers Markets, about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.
What led you to start supplying Biobags at your farmers market?
We started using Biobags for two reasons - 1. A goal of our market was to promote sustainability and environmental friendliness and this helped us reach our goal! 2. Farmers and producers at farmers market work on tight budgets - this was a small way for us to help offset their costs and provide some convenience to them and our shoppers.
We are in our 5th season and while we operate on a tight budget, Biobags are the first thing we buy every season! By providing Biobags, this helps us ensure that we are keeping single-use plastic bags out of the landfills while also helping to offset a cost for our vendors (it also helps subtly encourage composting!) We couldn't do it without the amazing Biobag product and competitive pricing.
Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to get involved?
Our farmers market is in the heart of the Uptown neighborhood (on the north side of Chicago). Our season runs every Wednesday, 2:30pm to 7pm, from May to November.
How many people do you serve on a weekly basis?
We serve over 1000 patrons each week with 30+ vendors
Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.
We are one of very few independently owned farmers markets. Most markets are run through an area chamber of commerce or other local entity. Ours is run wholly by myself, my partner Matthew, my sister Sarah and our Market Manager, Justin - as well as day-of volunteers who help us process SNAP/LINK benefits, keep track of attendance and provide information and support to our vendors and patrons.
