Kalamazoo Foods Market keeps it fresh through the winter

The  days of summer are a fast fading memory, and with them, the bustle of farmers markets under open skies. For those who appreciate shopping for locally-grown fresh produce must the winter months be barren?

The Kalamazoo Foods Market won't let that happen.

Every Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 26 through May 5, at 1156 S. Burdick, this indoor market opens its doors to shoppers, offering only produce that's baked, grown or assembled by those selling the food product.

Vendors set up their produce and products every or every other weekend, and among them are many summer market favorites: The Adventures of Barb and Tammy (with their homemade granola and biscotti), Bear Foot Farm, Cherri’s Chocol’art, Community Farm, Cookie House, Dirtsong, Green Gardens, Jake’s Country Farms, LuBelle Farms Dairy, People’s Food Co-op, Visser Farms and others.

Greeting customers at the door and standing guard at the coffee pot, keeping it ever hot and full, is Damon Geary. Damon and brother Kavan started the indoor winter market in 2010 and are happy to see word spread in its second year.

"We purchased the space before we knew what to put in it," Geary says. "Kavan's a photographer and was looking for studio space. We thought about leasing the rest of the building. We were approached by liquor stores, a homeless mission, churches … but none of these felt right."

Then an idea came to the brothers. It was right there in front of them, right at home. For nearly 10 years, their parents had been doing business at Kalamazoo farmers markets selling Zelma’s Indulgent Desserts. Summers were busy, winters were quiet.

"So we asked ourselves, what if we did an indoor farmers market during the winter months?" Geary says. The brothers' parents are not among their vendors, they take a break during the cold season, but for many such vendors, there are few other opportunities to make income during winter.

The brothers looked for quality farmers in the area, focusing only on food items like that sold by Kathy Buckham. She brings meat to sell from the family farm in Schoolcraft. During the summer her produce sells at Texas Township Farmers Market  and Buckham’s customer base follows her wherever she sells. They flock to her table at this market, too.

"Most of our advertising is word of mouth and from our web presence," Damon Geary says. People tell people, they follow their favorite farmers to the market. Signs on the road and in the windows also help draw in customers.  

"Not all of the food you find here is inexpensive," Geary says, "but we want to do our part to support the local economy, and the people who come here want to know where their dollar is going, that it’s a good place, and they are willing to pay for that. They want to know the farmer. It’s important to support our neighbors."

At many farmers markets, each table or booth is set up according to the likes of the vendor, but at Kalamazoo Foods Market the tables are uniformly assembled with black tablecloths and matching signs. "I suppose that’s Kavan’s touch." Damon Geary smiles. "He looks at things as an artist. We are always looking for little ways to add polish, little upgrades."

The next generation is adding a touch of polish, too. Damon Geary’s 10-year-old son Shawn bustles nearby his father, ready for the occasional errand. During the months leading up to the market, Geary is grateful for the help of his wife, children, parents, and, of course, his brother. "They make the market what it is," he says.

Overseeing the market is not Geary’s primary occupation. His weekdays take him to Grand Rapids, where he is an analyst for L-3 Communications, studying markets, forecasting sales, working in business development.

"Actually, being here at the Kalamazoo Foods Market on Saturdays is therapeutic," he says with a grin. "It’s a chance to get out of the office and to talk to people. I get to use a different part of my brain. When I’m here, I never sit down."

At the very center of the market, also never sitting down, are Mitch and Lindsay Visser of Visser Farms. Along their large rectangle of tables is the season’s last bright garden produce, adding green to the winter landscape. In colorful stacks and pyramids are, yes, tomatoes, the fruit of summer, and celery, onions, potatoes, squash, parsnips, apples, kale, sweet potatoes, turnips, and boxes of farm-fresh eggs.

"The tomatoes won’t be here much longer." Mitch Visser nods at the bright spot of red. "Not enough light left in the days. But much of this we will be bringing back to the market from cold storage."

Moving from market to market is how many of the vendors fiscally support their farms. One more market to get them through the long winter months adds vitality to the local economy of which they are a living, dynamic part. And if the Gearys opened their doors to support local business, local business has in turn supported them.

"Why is it important to support our local economy … " Damon Geary ponders. Eyes twinkling with mischief, he looks off into the distance through the windows of the market, overlooking the intersection of Crosstown Parkway and South Burdick, drawing a frown as if in deep philosophical thought, searching for deep and weighty meaning.

But then he shrugs and gets serious. "Because we--and these farmers--are not faceless companies. This kind of a market is about building relationships in the community. When we thought about what to bring into this building, we wanted to find something of value, derive some good where we live."

At the end of the day, after the vendors pack up their wares and depart, Damon Geary stays behind to sweep and pick up. He covers the windows with signs advertising next Saturday’s market. He cleans the coffee pot and puts it away, ready to bring it out again next time.

Zinta Aistars is a freelance writer from Portage and editor of the literary ezine The Smoking Poet.

Photos by Erik Holladay