For those who live in Oak Lawn, Wednesday mornings mean taking a stroll through the local farmers market.
While I was in elementary school, my siblings and I would ask, and ask, and ask for my mom to take us to the farmers market.
When she finally said yes, we’d grab our birthday money, throw on our shoes, pour on sunscreen, and walk over.
When we arrived, the first thing we did was ask if we could get sno cones.
More often than not, my mother would make us wait and stay with her as she shopped for fresh produce. But after she finished shopping, it was finally time for sno cones!
After devouring our sno cones, we’d then go to the park and play with our friends, who were also there every Wednesday.
Come junior high and high school, I would help my mom shop for my favorite fresh produce and baked goods. If I was lucky, she would buy a loaf of apple bread for the two of us to share.
While my brothers played at the park with their friends, my sister and I would shop for jewelry, hair accessories, and makeup products.
If my mom was at the Pampered Chef booth, I’d take the opportunity to buy her birthday present for her from one of the vendors.
Friends of my mom and their families would often meet up with us to go shopping together too. While they shopped, the rest of us went to the playground together.
However, after twenty years of families coming together Wednesday mornings, the village has decided to cancel this year’s farmers market.
The village provided a notice on their website stating, “Please take note that the Farmer’s Market will not be held this year.
After speaking with local Farmers, we made the decision not to have the market this year. It has become extremely difficult for farmers due to the amount of work required for setup and also with the ongoing staffing issues”…
“We believe that in order to have a strong market, it should include at least 2-3 farmers, with the other additional merchants as a bonus to the market.”
We do not know what the future holds as far as reinstating our Farmer’s Market. All we can do is use the information at hand today, to make the best decision possible”.
While the Farmer’s Market would not be the same without two to three produce vendors, it would still remain beneficial to the community to hold the Farmer’s Market on a smaller scale.
Other vendors are an essential part of the weekly market, with most of them small businesses.
By canceling the Farmer’s Market, the village is taking away opportunities for small businesses to grow as well as other families to share the same experiences I have had.