By Poppy Smith

Photos by Sinon Smith

With the late arrival of spring after an especially harsh winter, in terms of produce, the annual Homer Farmers Market had a bit of a delayed start this year, with farmers reporting crops are two weeks behind from normal seasons. The market is now being held as always at 1155 Ocean Drive, Wednesdays from 2-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

According to market manager Lauren Jerew, the market’s opening on May 23 was its earliest possible start date after the long winter, but that the market is now far more productive than the opening week.

The market has dozens of seasonal vendors selling a wide variety of goods, including jams and jellies, jewelry, pottery, flowers, baked goods and hot food. It still boasts multiple farmers’ booths, some of whom have been operating for years.

Emily Garrity of Twitter Creek Gardens, when asked how the late spring affected her wares, answered that as annual farmers, or farmers who grow non-perennial plants, the season did not affect her as badly. Although, like everyone else, she faced a slower-than-usual start, Garrity said that the sun’s return should be very good for them.

Seasonal changes aren’t the only threat to small markets like Homer’s, however. Like most other businesses operating on a local scale, the market can become the victim of funding cuts on a statewide level. 

Jerew said she felt differently about this year, however. She said that things have improved significantly since last year, especially with the recent grant awarding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers Market Promotion Program. A federal program available across the country, the grant requires a rigorous application process, but the finances it awards can range anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000 depending on the project type being applied for.

Lastly, Jerew wanted to stress that the market is accepting Quest cards, a facet of the SNAP program, also known as food stamps. According to the market’s official website, these can be used to purchase nearly any food available at the market that could be found at a grocery store, or that is “packaged, labeled, and intended to be consumed at home.” Additionally, many vendors also accept WIC, as well as Senior Nutrition coupons.

Homer isn’t the only town on the peninsula with a market. Anchor Point has recently begun their own, growing out of a loosely-organized group of vendors outside of the former Cheeky Moose laundromat into a larger, more official market. Held at and organized by the Anchor Point Senior Center, this market is set to be run on Thursdays from 3-6 p.m., starting on June 4.

Like Homer’s market, the Anchor Point Farmers Market has secured several grants in order to operate, including two from RuralCap, which is funded through the Alaska Farmers Market Association, and a grant from the Roy A. Hunt Foundation that funds market manager Savanna Stark’s position.

Stark, who is herself a vendor, said that the harsh winter hit Anchor Point farmers just as badly. She mentioned that she is in contact with many other farmers across the peninsula such as Happy Valley and Ninilchik, many of whom are facing similar issues within their farms.

“My personal farm is currently at least two weeks behind in all things farming. We generally plant on May 15 and just yesterday I was finally able to plant all 75 tomatoes in our greenhouse,” she said Saturday. 

The market is anticipated to open with around nine vendors, four of them full-time and largely selling produce, with another five or so vendors appearing sporadically across the season when they have wares available. Additionally, most of the vendors are mixed-booth, selling several types of wares alongside their produce including art, baked goods, wooden crafts, jewelry and even self-published books. 

Stark hopes for the market to gain more vendors as the summer progresses, saying that she is excited to open a space that is more affordable than the Homer Farmers Market.

“With that being said, I know the Homer market is an incredible place and very well advertised, has a great reputation and will be packed each day it is open. So I can completely understand why it would cost the amount it does. I am aware that our market will be much less traveled but I am happy to have a space that we can continue to grow each year,” she said.

In regards to the previous informal market at the Cheeky Moose Laundromat, Stark called it a great location and said that she had really wanted the space to work out, but that the problem was that it was “not official enough.” 

“There was no one to hold the farmers/vendors accountable,” said Stark. 

“When you offer a free space and a ‘come as you please’ attitude, it’s wonderful in theory. But something comes up and you think, ‘Ah, I’ll just skip it.’ And on and on it goes. There is absolutely no consistency. As a shopper, if you go to the store enough times during business hours and they aren’t open, eventually you’ll start going to a more reliable place. I think that happened with the market at the Cheeky Moose.”


For more information on either of the two farmers markets, visit homerfarmersmarket.org/ for Homer, and www.anchorpointseniorcenter.com/ for Anchor Point.