Photography by Jason Dailey
From Lenexa to Wichita to Manhattan, indoor and cold-weather markets are keeping Kansas communities connected to local growers—even in the heart of winter.
Cold weather typically brings an end to farmers markets—an end to outdoor booths filled with garden-fresh green beans, juicy red tomatoes, sweet corn and other locally grown produce. In recent years, however, winter farmers markets have seen a rise in popularity, allowing community members to purchase fresh, local foods even when the temperatures drop.
Winter farmers markets offer fresh root vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and turnips, as well as cold-season produce such as winter squash, onions, garlic, leeks, apples and pears.
Vegetables such as kale, arugula and spinach can also be found thanks to greenhouses and hydroponic and aquaponic systems.
The Lenexa Winter Farmers Market, open on the last Saturday of each month from January through March, offers a vibrant indoor market on the main floor of Lenexa City Hall. Vendors are required to provide local products grown or made in Kansas or within 250 miles of Lenexa, says Hailey Tassone, Lenexa Parks and Recreation’s farmers market manager.
“Summer is a little different because it’s peak produce time. When we switch to our winter markets, we get a lot of our specialty vendors as well as some of the vendors that grow winter crops,” Tassone says. Squash, dried beans, fall fruits, nuts and root vegetables are often available, she adds. “Squashes are very good, hearty winter vegetables, even if they are grown in the fall because they are so long-lasting.”
Year-round market staples include eggs, honey, butter, cheese, yogurt, pickles, candy, meats, barbecue sauce, rubs and baked goods.
Besides stocking up on locally sourced produce, customers love discovering new foods on the advice of the vendors, who make each visit educational and engaging.
“The vendors do a really great job explaining how to use their product as well as what’s different about it,” Tassone says. For example, if a customer doesn’t know what to do with an acorn squash, the vendors are more than happy to teach them some of their favorite ways to cook with it.
“Our wonderful pecan vendor has three different types of pecans,” she adds as another example. “Each pecan has a different flavor profile. The vendor has samples and does a great job explaining how to cook with each of them.”
Many vendors even provide samples of their cooked products. “It’s a good resource,” Tassone says. “You know your local vendors, you have a really great connection with them, and you know where your food is coming from. I think that’s very important for people to have that connection.”
Keeping customers and producers connected year-round is one of the reasons the Lenexa Winter Farmers Market began in 2020, Tassone says. Plus, it financially helps vendors by giving them an opportunity to sell their products during the colder months.
Lenexa’s summer market runs twice a week in the Civic Campus parking garage: on Tuesdays from the end of May through August, and Saturdays from the end of April through October. Special holiday markets occur at city hall in November and December, typically on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Many of these booths feature holiday meal essentials and carefully curated gift baskets.
Kansas Grown! Farmers Market
Greenhouse-grown lettuce, kale, sweet potatoes, winter squash, carrots and cauliflower are among the vegetables offered at the winter Kansas Grown! farmers market in Wichita. Peruse various meats, baked goods, breads, honey, jams and jellies, salsa, pickles, barbecue sauces and seasonings, as well as hand-crafted pet treats, soaps, candles, pottery and jewelry. From 8 a.m. to noon, inside the 4H Hall in the County Extension Office, the market will occur on November 22, December 13 and 20, January 17, and February 7. In March, the market will return to its outdoor locations, running from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, weather permitting.
Downtown Farmer’s Market of Manhattan
Some summer and fall produce is available until December at the downtown winter farmers market in Manhattan. Cold-hardy vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips and winter squash are most readily available from December onward. During these cold months, a popular hydroponic grower sells tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, and another vendor sells mushrooms. Customers can also stock up on bison, beef, chicken, lamb and pork as well as baked goods and handcrafted gifts. Visit its outdoor location on Third and Leavenworth Street, weather permitting. The market is open from November through March on Saturdays,
9 a.m.–1 p.m. Check its Facebook page for the most up-to-date information.
manhattanfarmersmarket.org/winter-market
