In response to local trends emphasizing sustainable green practices, such as regional farm food security, public access to nutritious fresh produce, healthier eating lifestyles and community building, farmers’ and hybrid “green” public markets here are expanding and redefining their purpose and place in the community. 

Touchstone markets operating here under the Washington State Farmers Market Association umbrella—they include the downtown Spokane Farmers Market, the Thursday Market (formerly South Perry Market), and a third, the Kendall Yards Night Market, which is working to meet the association’s standards—exemplify the trend. 

The Spokane Farmers Market Association arguably set the bar in market standards. Market manager Diane Reuter says that 17 years ago, after the long-running Spokane MarketPlace faltered, a group of frustrated farmers took matters into their own hands and founded the organization. 

Bordered on one side by the Interstate 90 freeway overpass, the Spokane Farmers Market operates on a half-acre lot along West Fifth Avenue, in the shadow of Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center & Children’s Hospital. The downtown market supports 38 vendors, limiting the space to local farm produce, farm-produced products, and baked goods. It operates Wednesday and Saturday mornings from May to October and offers free parking. 

Reuter cites the market’s focus on ensuring “farmers could make a living off farming” for its longevity and success. 

“You won’t find ‘high-stallers,’ people who go to produce warehouses and buy produce and resell it,” says Reuter, noting the practice is unfair competition and has hurt farmers involved in previous markets. 

SFMA also keeps the booth cost steady at between $20 and $50 per day, depending on sales. She estimates total sales at $500,000 per year. 

The market boosts small farmers like Xiong Farms. Kia Xiong says her family of five has been depending on it since 1998 to sell their exotic flowers and other produce they grow on a one-acre plot along the Washington-Idaho border.

“It supports us for the whole summer,” she says, though she adds this has been a rough year because of the weed infestation brought on by record summer temperatures. 

Reuter says the market not only benefits shoppers who want the fresh produce sold there, which she claims yields higher nutrients than that sold in many grocery stores, but it also “brings good food” to low-income people. In 2012, the market began accepting “Fresh Bucks,” a program driven by Catholic Charities that increases the value of every food stamp dollar they spend on fresh produce by 40 percent. Reuter says the program has brought in new dollars for local farmers, increasing sales noticeably.  

Reuters maintains that the market’s success is founded in its commitment to its mission, which has netted it strong farmer and customer loyalty. 

“That first summer (in 1998), there were five of us with our backs up against the wall,” says Reuter, “but if you come out on Saturday now, this whole place is full.”

Thursday Market manager Karyna Hamilton says that market is rooted in community service, which began 10 years ago with just four tents in a parking lot behind the historic windmill building on South Perry Street. 

The South Perry neighborhood, once known for seedier trades, is still home to some of the historically poorest and most disenfranchised residents in the city. However, the city Spokane’s Centers & Corridors pilot program, which helped spur upgrades to the streetscape along Perry Street between Eighth and 12th avenues with trees, lights, benches, trash cans, and bus shelters, paved the way for change. New businesses moved in, and more affluent homebuyers bought and renovated some of the historical residences there. 

Hamilton says the Thursday Market works hard to bridge the socioeconomic disparity by “blending affluence with poverty.”  She also credits the Fresh Bucks program for a huge surge in sales for that market. 

“The advantage,” she says, “is that federal dollars stay in the local market.” 

That program has grown exponentially under the management of Catholic Charities and partners such as Global Credit Union, which recently donated $10,000 as an investment “in a culture that provides accessible, affordable, and wholesome foods and goods.” 

The market includes 50 vendors; more than half of them are farmers, and the rest make crafts, artisan-prepared foods, and other items. The cost of a booth is $35 a day or $270 to $525 for a season. Hamilton reports the market is doing well and has experienced a 30 percent growth in income for vendors this year. 

Hamilton says that while Thursday Market is more of a hybrid market, “farmers are still the heart.” She says generations of farmers are starting to retire, making way for a “surge of young, innovative farmers.” New farmers encounter many obstacles, so the market is an important tool for them. 

Dan and Laura Sproule of Full Bushel Farm support a family of six with 6 acres, earning 70 percent of their yearly income from selling at Thursday Market and at the Liberty Lake Farmer’s Market. 

“We depend on the same customers who spend a couple dollars every week,” says Dan Sproule.

Hamilton says it’s the diverse community that gives the market its special vibe. On any Thursday after 3 p.m., parked cars line both sides of the gentrified Perry business district all the way up and down the hill where it’s located. 

Peaceful side streets presided over by huge sugar maples that have seen the comings and goings of nearly 10 generations accept the parking overflow. The smell of fresh bread and ripening melons, peaches, and berries along with colorful flowers and vegetables underscore the strains of an acoustic guitar and the movement of kids, dogs, families, young and old couples and singles.

“I love the Thursday Market,” says Hamilton, “because it hits all the feel goods and something magical happens.” 

The Kendall Yards Night Market, which kicked off in July this year, is all about community, says Jim Frank, market founder and CEO of Liberty Lake-based Greenstone Homes. Since 2010, Frank has been working to build a “walkable” urban neighborhood on the big Kendall Yards site, complete with parks, public art, locally owned businesses, and community resources such as the market and the recently launched Spark Center, a nonprofit community activity space.

“It’s all part of the vision,” says Frank. 

A sublime sense of space and grandeur elicited by the juxtaposition of Spokane’s imposing brick skyline to the breathtaking Spokane River gorge is the backdrop for the 50 tents lining both sides of Summit Parkway in Kendall Yards business district every Wednesday through October. Parking is free. 

Frank says the combination of merging his “Rock the Nest Concert Series” featuring local up-and-coming musicians, with keeping the market open till 8 p.m. is what has made the market quickly successful. Sales have exceeded expectations at approximately $15,000 per week, and local businesses have gotten a much-needed boost, he says.

“An integral part is the entertainment aspect,” says Frank. “It’s a great opportunity for people to stay longer, to connect, to gather, to celebrate.” 

Though the market focuses on a festival atmosphere, Frank says his commitment to community is still foremost. He is working to qualify the market for state association membership and to be able to accept Fresh Bucks, not only to support local farmers and availability of fresh produce in his neighborhood but to serve the poorer residents of the community. 

In that spirit, he has joined forces with Project Hope, employing its at-risk youth as market interns and holding a vendor space for Project Hope to sell its produce.