Mankato Farmers Market Surveys for move idea

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - The Mankato Farmers Market has been part of the community for over 60 years. It has moved locations many times with the Best Buy and Bomgaars parking lots being the current locations during the summer and winter.

But some vendors believe that the Market needs to move to a new more permanent location.

“At the peak of the season in July and August, it gets pretty cramped here the parking lot,” Cedar Crate Farm owner Dan Zimmerli said.

The idea behind the move would be to shelter vendors and buyers from the elements while offering better transportation access for everyone.

“We’re starting to see a lot more younger families, you know, bring, bring the kids here, here on Saturday morning, here to the Mankato market. So they want some decent space for them to run around with,” B2B Honey Co. owner Ritchie Schaefer said.

One thing that could slow down the process is funding.

“Wouldn’t be a low-cost project, just because land around here is incredibly expensive, construction costs are so high. You know, there would be a lot of obstacles,” Junniper Berries owner Becky Rossow said.

“It’s been made very clear at both the state and federal level that local food systems are a priority. Both USDA and MDA have been putting funding towards it. So, there’s a lot of opportunities there,” Region Nine Development Commission Environment and Sustainability Planner Sabri Fair said.

The move, if it happens, could take a while to make happen.

“Missouri took, I think it took almost 20 years for them to kind of go from idea to actually selling at their market pavilion. So hopefully we can learn some things and do it quicker,” Zimmerli said.

Fair doesn‘t foresee the project taking that long, but it will require at least a few years’ time.

“We want to find a balance of, if somebody wants to create a space for us, we want to make sure that the vendor’s voice is heard and that the community’s voice is heard in that design,” Fair said.

Surveys will continue at the winter market until around spring 2025. The data must then be summarized for discussion and proposals.

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