Tucked into the Mill City Museum and overlooking the Mississippi River, the Mill City Farmers Market spills onto the surrounding city blocks on Second Street and Chicago Avenue.
On Saturdays, the farmers market’s variety of vendors and thousands of patrons bustle around the market, ushering in its 19th summer season under Northeast Minneapolis’ late morning sunshine.
Maya O’Brien McLeod, a manager of the farmers market, said the outdoor summer season is when the market is at its best, receiving more foot traffic with up to 10,000 visitors and 70 vendors on summer Saturdays.
“Connecting with the community, with the vendors and with our customers, with our regulars is so special,” O’Brien McLeod said. “That’s such a highlight of the job for me.”
Vendors return each year for the market’s friendly community.
Laurel Kelly, who helps run the organic tea shop Mrs. Kelly’s Tea, said the market’s visitors are what has kept the tea shop returning for 17 years.
“When I’m inside for the winter market, that feels like I’m part of a big community grocery store a little bit more. Transactions are a lot faster. I think people are less willing to sit and chat for a while,” Kelly said. “It feels like a brighter, more fun space in the summer.”
The Mill City Museum hosts a condensed, indoor version of the market with about 35 vendors from November to April, O’Brien McLeod said.
Na Yang, who helps sell produce for Mom’s Garden, said the farm is a vital part of the summer market for people who visit because it is the best time to sell their produce, which includes bean sprouts and bok choy.
Family-owned farms like Mom’s Garden, food makers, bakeries and artists make up the community of vendors the farmers market offers. This year, the market is welcoming several new vendors, such as goat cheese and honey seller Enchanted Gardens, and offering free monthly yoga classes and cooking tutorials.
The farmers market attracts local Minneapolitans and interstate visitors alike. Laura Bloch, a San Francisco resident visiting friends in Minnesota, said she enjoyed the market’s range of products.
“I love the variety of what’s here,” Bloch said. “Everything from textiles to food products to juices, all kinds of things.”
Zach Halstead, a Mill City neighbor, said he and his family go every weekend for their favorite wood-fired pizza from Northern Fires.
“The summer market is just so busy,” Halstead said. “It’s great to see everybody.”
Many vendors accept SNAP and EBT cards, O’Brien McLeod said. Visitors who spend $10 with a SNAP card can get $30 worth to spend on produce and prepared food at the farmers market.
Food vendors like Rashmi Bhattachan, who runs a Nepalese and Indian street food restaurant, Momodosa, said the summer farmers market is crucial to their business’s success.
“It’s a beautiful day outside, lots of people,” Bhattachan said. “We are so grateful for our customers to show up on day one and support us.”
The outdoor summer farmers market is twice as big as the indoor one and runs every Saturday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m., May through September. It also runs from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in October.
O’Brien McLeod said she is excited for another year of welcoming new people, vendors and visitors to the farmers market.
“Seeing it continuing to be a really welcoming space for anyone to come and get food and hang out and just have a good time is really special,” O’Brien McLeod said.