Farmers' Market

The Oak Park Farmers' Market is held every Saturday from opening day through October in the Pilgrim Congregational Church parking lot at 460 Lake Street.

• Bake Sale: Oak Park Women's Guild
• Children’s Activity: Seed Montessori
   

Vendor Notes:

About the cheese...

• Brunkow Cheese has been creating over 50 varieties of artisanal and specialty cheeses in small batches by hand since 1899. They age all their cheese on site in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin. Recipients of 15 awards, they have won “Best of Class” for their Brun-uusto Baked Cheese with Garlic, 99.3 in 2014 at the World Championship Cheese Contest. In 2012, they won “Best of Class” for our Raw Milk Cheddar with Horseradish, 97.75, again in the World Championship Cheese Contest.
• J2K Capraio is a farmstead dairy and artisan creamery located in Walkerton, Ind. J2K Capraio's cheese-making operation is entirely done by hand by the Klinedinst family; the family of six raise the goats, milk the goats, handcraft the cheese and sell the cheese themselves. They are proud of their marinated feta, which placed in the top ten in its category at the United States Champion Cheese Competition, the largest contest in our country. They just completed Indiana’s first underground cheese cave, which will hold 20,000 lbs. of cheese. The cave will add to the flavor profile of the cheeses. The cheese already has a natural rind. The cave floor, and walls, add to the taste and will be naturally-geothermally regulated by the earth, which affects temperature and humidity within the cave.

About the meats and eggs...

• Finns’ Ranch and Mint Creek Farm are family-run sustainable meat and egg producers. Both meat/egg farms raise animals on certified organic pastures and all the animals are grass-fed and pasture raised. They both have earned Animal Welfare Approved status. All their animals are raised antibiotic and hormone-free and are veg-fed.

About the fresh cut flowers...

• Both North Wichert Gardens and Petals Farm grow all their flowers in Illinois (even the Tuberoses and Eucalyptus).

About the baked goods...

• Both farmers market bakers, Katic Breads and Breadman, specialize in handmade (small batch) items, use sustainable practices, and utilize as much local sourcing as possible.

About the specialty growers and products...

• River Valley Ranch is the largest organic mushroom farm in the Midwest. Along with year-round indoor grown mushrooms, their specialty items (jars, packaged, and frozen) are all made from their farm-grown produce.
• Brian Severson Farms grow non-GMO Certified Organic grains and offer recipes and mixes for biscuits, cornbread and more. Their flour, oats, grits, cornmeal are often grown with ancient grains. Farmer Brian grows some Ark of Taste seeds (Slow Food Movement). Their pure popcorn seeds can be traced back to the 1890s. The popular flour was used in the pie contest and many of us make our own pizza dough with their products. Recently, they developed a nine grain bread with our baker, Breadman, that has become a best-seller.

Current Vegetable Harvest:

• Beets
• Bok Choy*
• Broccoli/Broccolini
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Celery Root 
• Celery
• Chard, Rainbow Swiss and other
• Collard Greens
• Eggplant 
• Garlic
• Ginger (maybe)
• Grains, Various (flours, grits, cornmeal, biscuit mixes, popcorn, etc.)
• Greens, Various
• Herbs, Fresh Various
• Kohlrabi
• Leeks
• Microgreens, Various
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Peas
• Peppers, Bell and Various *
• Potatoes (14 varieties)
• Radishes
• Rutabaga
• Scallion
• Squash, Various
• Turnip Greens
• Turnip, Various
• Wheatgrass  
  *Availablility depends on weather prior to market​

Current Fruit Harvest:

• Apples (14 varieties)
• Apple Cider
• Cranberries
• Gourds (edible and decorative)
• Grapes, Various
• Grape Juice (only at Walt Skibbe stand)
• Pears
• Plums
• Pumpkins (baking)
• Pumpkins (Jack-o-Lantern)
• Raspberries
• Tomatoes (last the season, maybe)
   
• Some of our jarred/packaged items, straight from the preservation kitchens at the farms include: honey, maple syrup, bruschetta, sauces, purees, salsas, dips, granolas, hot sauce, vegan tamales (frozen), pasta (frozen), condiments, pickled vegetables, and jams.