Grey clouds overlook Canton Park as lunch hour traffic goes by. A sprinkling of rain fell earlier that morning, scaring many of the villagers indoors for their mid-day meals. There are only a handful of locals outside brave enough to stare down the overcast. They belong to the farmers market and have seen enough clouds pass to know when a storm is coming.
The Canton Farmers Market has been a staple in the community for years. Started in 1974, the market rose amid an era of change. “There was no market until the hippies came here with the land movement, wanting to do honest work,” says Dulli Tengeler, the owner of Birdsfoot Farm. “The land was cheap, and the soil was fertile.”
The times have continued to change since the beginning of the farmers market. Tengeler, like many of the market’s vendors, has witnessed these changes. She came to the North Country in 1990 from Germany on an internship program and shortly after married her husband, helping him run his farm. “Some of us have been here forever and some move on,” she says. “It is hard to make a living.”
Birdsfoot Farm was one of the first vendors at the farmers market in 1974. Back then, between 40 and 50 tents sold products each week. Now there are only around 20 tents depending on the time of year.
Tengeler attributes the fall in vendors to a variety of factors. “People cook less now,” she says. “They eat more fast food these days. It requires a lot more time making a meal from scratch.”
Competition also plays a role for vendors. “The supermarket sets the price for us,” Tengeler says. “We are certified organic, and we pay minimum wage which is over 11 dollars at this point. Food prices have stayed about the same, but wages keep climbing.”
The struggle to make a living off of selling local produce has introduced more part-time vendors to the market like David Rice, owner of Sweetcore Farm in Russell, New York. Until this year Rice sold raspberries and blueberries at the market year-round. Now he just sells apples in the fall.
Rice is also the treasurer for the farmers market and has helped incorporate different strategies to attract customers. “The sales for some tents isn’t what it used to be but the market has evolved,” says Rice. “This is the first year we’ve allowed food trucks to come. It’s been fun to have them.”
Some of the market’s other adaptations center around poorer economic classes in the county. “St. Lawrence County, as many know, is not a wealthy county,” says Rice. “It is one of the lower counties for median wealth in the state of New York. There’s good support for local food but there are also plenty of people who can’t access it because of convenience and cost.”
In order to make it easier for citizens with SNAP program benefits and nutrition program benefits to buy local produce, the nonprofit organization GardenShare provides an EBT terminal and debit card processor at the market. This helps farmers like Rice, who says these payments constitute up to 38% of his sales some days.
Chuck Bolesh is one of the volunteers manning GardenShare’s table. The retired Canton Central school teacher has been a farmers market customer since its establishment and values the sense of community the market builds.
“When I was just coming to the market, I would go and try to talk to all the vendors that I knew,” says Bolesh. “I just wanted to support all of them. Could I have bought all the products from one vendor? Yeah, but it is a way of touching base in those people’s lives and in my own life.”
He credits the significance of the farmers market to the vendors. “I’ve never met an ugly vendor,” continues Bolesh. “They are just nice people and if they don’t get support, they’ll do something else.”
Overall, the farmers market plays an important role in the Canton community. “It attracts people in busy times of year and in many ways is a great way to build public relations,” says Rice. “It helps other people learn more about the community and St. Lawrence County.”
The vendors also notice the contributions from students to the farmers market. “It has been fairly consistent business from students over the years but there is a younger crowd that is more in tune with the market and local food,” says Rice.
Farms in the area have linked with SLU faculty and students to create classes and activities that promote the communal aspects of the farmers market. Community Based Learning courses have played a key role in this effort. Tengeler started educating SLU students in 1999 and has furthered the program into yearly classes.
“The idea is to serve the community,” says Tengeler. “It’s great for [the farmers] and the students because they are very energized and it’s a great break from the books.”
Tengeler is involved with the course “Literary Harvest” this semester which introduces students to fall-time farm work. “Right now we are harvesting potatoes, carrots, beets, beans, lettuce, tomatoes,” says Tengeler. “There’s some weeding and we put up some tunnels for frost protection. Later we will be planting garlic and harvesting parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes.”
The Canton farmers market, despite the changes it has endured, still unites the community in meaningful ways. By exposing visitors to the town’s history, helping low-income citizens develop a healthy diet, and incorporating students in sustainable and healthy food practices, the market adds life to this small North Country town. It connects people with their food and with their neighbors.
The Canton Farmers Market is open on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Thursdays from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. until October 29 and will resume next May. For information on how to receive local vegetables and herbs on campus (CSA), you can visit http://birdsfootfarm.weebly.com or ask other vendors at the market.