Farmers' Markets of the Heartland

MISSOURI

Missouri Missouri is the Show Me State, and it certainly has a thing or two to show us about local food and small, diverse farms. And Missouri is no slouch when it comes to farmers’ markets, either. Anchored on either end by metropolises surrounded by rich farmland, Missouri is home to distinctive, energetic individuals who are making a name for the state in local eating. A common thread among the younger set of farmers and food artisans is that they left home seeking excitement, then returned to their roots. First, we arrive in St. Louis, with its iconic Gateway Arch designed by architect Eero Saarinen and completed in 1965, a symbol of St. Louis as the Gateway to the West. In the shadow of the arch is the Soulard Market. Its original structure was built in 1843, and the current building dates to 1929. As with many massive, permanent market buildings, its storied past ebbs and flows with the evolution of American cities. It was closed in the 1940s, as were many markets, but reopened in the 1970s, and today it is predominantly a brokers’ market, with bananas and pineapples side by side with regional foods. 142 missouri Tower Grove Farmers’ Market 40 vendors Saturdays, May through November Northwest Drive and Central Cross Drive, Tower Grove Park, St. Louis Visit Tower Grove Park on a Saturday morning, and you can come away perfectly balanced by filling your canvas bag with delicious food and practicing yoga with likeminded shoppers. Every Saturday, weather permitting, you will see several dozen yoga mats—as many as one hundred—arranged in a circle on the grass, the yogis going through sun salutations, an ancient series of poses that greet the morning and leave practitioners set for the day. “Buying food at the farmers market is a holistic way to buy food, and yoga is a holistic way to take care of your body,” says Keith Mitchell, who instructs the free sessions on Saturday mornings. Tower Grove Park itself is an inspiring site. The outbuildings capture a distinct sense of time and place, and I thought that if I squinted I could almost see a scene from the end of “Meet Me In St. Louis,” the1944 musical where Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien strolled the 1904 world’s fair in oversized white hats and fluffy white Edwardian dresses. The park predates the fair—it was established in1868, a gift from Henry Shaw, a philanthropist who also founded the Missouri Botanic Garden. Shaw had come to St. Louis in 1819 as a teenager and became a successful businessman selling hardware, tools, and cutlery to farmers and immigrant settlers. After a twentyyear career, he retired at age forty and pursued his interest in botany. The farmers’ market is housed on a patio near the 1914 pool pavilion resembling a Greek temple. Vendors are lined up in aisles, with more along the path to the meandering road that goes through the park. The pavilion presides over a wading pool, great for kids and for cooling off on a steamy day. missouri   143 Farmers at Tower Grove»Back in 1821, when James Monroe was president, Leonard Harold established Centennial Farms and also founded the town of Augusta on his own property. A few decades later he sold acreage to Christian Knoernschild. Centennial Farms remains in the Knoernschild family today, where six generations later, the family grandsons live on the farm. Current owners Bob and Ellen Knoernschild planted orchards and vines in the 1960s and now have more than 1,400 fruit trees in addition to the berry and vegetable plantings on their farm. The Knoernschilds sell at the market and also have their own farm market from July through November, when visitors can tour the farm and buy fresh food as well as honey, four kinds of apple butter, and more than a dozen varieties of preserves. The original log cabin is restored, and the farmstead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When high summer comes, Ellen Knoernschild recommends pureeing their peaches and mixing with vanilla ice cream.»Aaron and Agi Groff of 4 Seasons Baked Goods were both classically trained at the Culinary Institute of America. They sell an array of delectables (even dog treats) at Tower Grove as well as two other markets.»Food artisan and St. Louis native son Mark Sanfilippo of Salume Beddu fell in love with Italian-style cured...