By Devan Sticka
Starting in April through October, every Saturday from nine in the morning until 12 in the afternoon Minnestrista hosts Muncie’s Farmer Market. Local vendors have the opportunity to show off their inventory ranging from fresh produce, meats and condiments.
Several vendors all in a line take up most of the parking lot next to the Minnestrista Orchard Shop. On a breezy October morning, the shoppers are bundled up in jackets and hats as they pull a little red wagon behind them.
Farid Khn sells hummus, Afghan cookies and naan bread at his table. He uses the proceeds to support his family and enjoys building relationships with his customers and the vendors around him.
“This is like, relationship building. This is from the community build up. Also see good, like, food they wouldn’t know,” Khn said.
As a Muslim man, Khn is subject to stereotypes, but wants to show through his traditional foods that he is a part of the community.
“Like also, I bring my wife. She wear[s] the scarf. You know, people will know, how we are. We are Muslim,” Khn said. “You know, we are not all the same. Every culture, every religion has good and bad.”
Many cultures are represented at the farmers market. Elam Bellier, an Amish man, and his son come to the market every week to sell green tomatoes, onions and peppers that they grew on their farm throughout the summer months.
“I think it’s interesting,” Bellier said. “We get to interact with people and we get to experience other cultures and so forth.”
Some vendors have been selling their goods since the very first Minnetrista Farmers Market. Tom Justice is one of those farmers. He grows pumpkins, gourds and tomatoes with the help of his daughter Geralyn Justice.
“Oh, good. Everyone’s real friendly around here and everything,” Tom Justice said.
Another father daughter duo includes Joe Hewson and Sandy Burrel, owner of Northern Tropics Greenhouse. Buller has been participating in the farmers market for 18 years and has received the help of her father for the past four years.
“This week we’ve got cauliflower, which is good, and we always have tomatoes and onions, peppers,” Joe Hewson said. “We’ve got it all. We’ve got the best of everything.”
Loyal customers enjoy supporting Hewson and Burrel and the Justice family. Geralyn interacts with the customers.
“Well, I’m very social,” Geralyn said. “I’m a social girl.”
At the end of three hours of laughter and conversation ending in purchases, the customers leave and the vendors gather.
“At the end we all have a pitch in, cookout thing,” Geralyn said.
Wagons wheel away from the vendors to the waiting cars as another Saturday farmers market comes to an end.
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