Saint Paul Farmers' Market

Lowertown Market & Eatery

Juni Hovland — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:03:21 +0000

Gather, shop, and eat good food in our Indoor Farmers’ Market and Country Store

Lowertown Market & Eatery answers the call to build infrastructure and space for a real community-based food system. It sits kiddy-corner across the street from the historic Saint Paul Farmers’ Market in the Northern Warehouse–a gorgeous rusty-red brick building celebrated on the National Registry of Historic Places, originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway to serve as a hub processing the goods ebbing and flowing to and from other train stations out west.

Now, instead of hosting trains bringing in goods from afar, our new home base hosts our neighbor small-scale farmers and food entrepreneurs to bring their goods straight to the Lowertown neighborhood.

Come winter, the market will transform every Saturday and Sunday into an indoor farmers’ market as vendors set up tables along the perimeter of the space and sell directly to customers in the warm, cozy space. For customers, shopping is fun and social, and a chance to talk to the people who made their food. It’s commerce distilled to its simplest and essential elements; a producer hands a product to a customer.

Lowertown Market & Eatery in winter

Compared to conventional grocery stores, farmers’ markets cut long travel and storage times for produce as well as middlemen, allowing producers to sell just-harvested produce directly to customers. They decentralize the food system, allowing more control and decision-making power to small-scale food producers and customers. They drastically cut packaging waste and carbon emissions compared to regular supermarkets. Most importantly, they localize the food culture that is authentic and special to a region. Farmers’ Markets function as a hyper-efficient supply chain, all while stimulating the local economy, increasing food security, and building local job opportunities.

Our new Lowertown Market & Eatery expands on those strengths and benefits. Not only do the vendors and customers enjoy a climate-controlled, cozy venue comfortable in all conditions-rain or sleet or Minnesota’s famous arctic vortexes- they can sell their products in the market during the week too. The market functions like an old fashioned country store, the kind you might picture a village had back in the day that sold products made or grown entirely by the locals. Our country store market exclusively sells products made by our farmers’ market vendors. Galvan’s Food & Tortilleria manages the market during the week. You can grab a coffee and burrito before you shop for local food!

Galvan’s Food & Tortillleria

The Lowertown Market gives farmers an opportunity to expand the reach of their business and sell throughout the week and year-round. The Saint Paul Growers Association purchases the produce and manages the store. The farmers have a chance to sell in a marketplace on a small scale, which is usually not possible at other local grocery stores. Our market is open Tuesday-Sunday and is stocked with fresh veggies, fruit, meat, milk, eggs, assorted cheese, honey, preserved food, condiments, and more, all 100% local.

In addition to expanded access to local food, our Lowertown Market & Eatery features a large, fully licensed, commercial kitchen able to accommodate up to 20 primary vendors, 15 part-time vendors, and hourly, pop-up vendors. This shared kitchen space functions as a springboard for emerging food entrepreneurs and offers cottage food producers a chance to take their production to the next level. Our Market & Eatery also serves the community by hosting cooking classes and farmer events. We are working on expanding our offerings of classes and events.

While it’s open now, we are still working on restoring and building the space to best serve the community. As we tear down walls and build up this space, we are tearing down barriers for food entrepreneurs, for dreamers, and for the community to share in those dreams through enjoying unique locally made-with-love products.

Lowertown Market & Eatery in winter

Indoor Farmers’ Markets give a sense of community and local pride in a way that transient outdoor markets can’t. They often become home to the best of local gastronomy and food culture. What food traditions will we build in Saint Paul? What heritage and legacy will we carry or create to give to future generations? What memories will you make at our new Indoor Market space?

Join us in building our local Saint Paul food culture!

Lowertown Market & Eatery is open 7 am-3 pm Tuesday-Sunday at 308 Prince Street East.

A Visit to Utecht’s Homegrown Pork

Juni Hovland — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 17:55:35 +0000

After a drive through rolling cornfields in eastern Wisconsin, we spotted their address on a mailbox and turned onto the driveway. A long, winding dirt road led us through an exquisite forest lined with prairie grasses and goldenrod until we reached their house. Gustavo and I parked, hopped out, and the Utechts greeted us. The youngest, a preschooler, ran up, smiled, and waved before turning and darting away. They had just returned from harvesting sweetcorn and were cooling off the piles of fresh-picked cobs by hosing them with frigid water in the back of the pickups.

After harvest, the corn cobs are cooled off in the back of pick-up trucks with frigid water. Photo by Gustavo Gutierrez.

Utecht’s Homegrown Pork Farm raises heritage hogs. In the summer markets, you can’t miss their tent. It’s adorned with tall corn stalks, tassels waving in the wind. With eye-catching piles of stacked corn so tasty you’d be tempted to take a bite right there in the farmers’ market aisle, it’s easy to miss that they also sell homemade jams. They sell their pork and jams year-round at farmers’ markets.

Utechts Summer Farm Stand at the farmers’ Market. Photo by Juni

After we all introduced ourselves, Brian apologized; he couldn’t give us a tour. A neighbor called, and he had to run over some farm equipment. ‘When a neighbor calls, you gotta help them. And they’ll help you right back when you need it.” He explained as he headed out. His dad, Chris, would show us around.

Utecht’s farm raises Hereford and Hereford cross hogs, a heritage breed sought after for its marbled meat. “It’s not a commercial pig like what you’d get from the grocery store. They don’t grow as fast, ” Chris explained.

You can see the difference in the cuts at the farmers’ market; the intramuscular fat shows as thin white streaks and flecks throughout the cuts, instead of just outer layers of fat on conventional meat. As the marbled fat melts during cooking, it bastes the meat from within, evenly releasing and preserving juiciness, buttery tenderness, and complex, savory flavor.

Grilling the pork. Photo provided by the Utechts.

Purebred Hereford hogs resemble red Hereford cows with a striking dark, rusty-red coat and white face, underbelly, and feet. As many of the hogs at the farm are crossbred, they have unique coloration, and some are spotted. They are gentle, hardy, and healthy, bred and raised to grow much slower than conventional hogs.

Young hogs forage outside at Utecht’s Farm. Photo provided by the Utechts.

“We value giving our moms plenty of space to have their little ones while nursing. The biggest difference in a barn our size is that most factory farms would house three to four times the animals we do. We believe the health of our animals is most important and strive to give them the best care possible,” Beth Utecht explained on their website.

Mother sow nursing newborn piglets. Photo provided by the Utechts.

“We don’t feed our pigs any animal by-products, and do not use any antibiotics or growth hormones, which is very uncommon in the pig industry. Our pigs are fed corn, soybeans, and various fruits and vegetables.”

Unlike conventional hogs, each hog is unique in size and coat color. Chris explained, “Sometimes we’ll have some that are a little leaner. Sometimes they’re a little fattier. I mean, they’re just like us-you’re shorter than I am. Some of us are a little fatter than others. I mean, our pigs are not all as uniform as a traditional hog. So, I mean, some are going to be fatter and leaner, but they’re marbled, and they’re absolutely fabulous.”

Combine in the corn field. Photo by Gustavo Gutierrez

After showing us the hogs, we toured the sweet corn fields. They demonstrated how they disc the corn back into the soil. The corn will feed the soil like compost, providing vital nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that will help next year’s crop.

“So, these 10 rows right here behind me, I’m going to disc back down into the field because my next planting’s better, and I want to bring the best possible product I can to the farmers’ market. I mean, this is already a really amazing cob. But this one is much better, by like 10%. And it’s not much, but if I can get that every single time, you’re never going to go anywhere else.”

Bryan shows the difference between two cobs. Photo by Gustavo Gutierrez.

“And if you go do that and then you go try a grocery store and get a product that is not from a farmer who knows what they’re talking about, knows what they’re doing, and is very, very particular on what they do, you’ll never go back to the grocery store.”

Our tour ended at a quiet, serene creek. Chris reminisced about how his boys used to swim in the creek. As kids, his sons started the farm by raising baby hogs for a 4H project. In time, it grew into the operation they have now. His granddaughter ran up to him. With her in his arms, he said how much he loved having his grandkids around the farm all the time.

Creek on Utecht’s Farm. Photo by Gustavo Gutierrez

After the tour, the Utechts invited us into their house for lunch of sizzling burgers fresh from a neighboring farm. While we were eating in the living room, Chris shared stories about the surrounding farming community. They know all the neighboring farmers and work with each other. They share equipment, resources, labor, or whatever is needed. One time, while on their way to a farmers’ market before dawn around 4 am, they got stranded on the side of the road with a radiator hose. They called a neighbor, who rushed over and got their truck back on the road.

Bryan exclaimed, “I can call a neighbor at 4 am for help. And if they ever call me, I’m going.”

The Utechts host an open farm day with a feast for their customers every year. Photo provided by the Utechts

Every year, they prepare a giant buffet and open their farm for visitors. They give a tour of the grounds and barn. “We invite all our customers out to our farm where they can walk through our barn and see exactly how we do things because most people have never had that experience before.” Sam Utecht explained, “They’ve never seen baby pigs, or held baby pigs, or seen what a farm looks like or how it operates.”

Bryan holding a piglet. Photo provided by the Utechts.

“And it’s a cool experience to show, whether you’re a 40-year-old or you’re an 80-year-old woman, to be able to hold a baby pig. It’s a cool experience for our customers as well as for us.”

“When you buy from a farmers’ market, whether it is a jar of jam, or a vegetable, or pork, you are buying from a farmer and the farmer’s family.” Sam emphasized, “There are generations of family that were a part of producing that. You are not just buying from that face at the market; you are buying from an uncle, sister, grandmother, or sibling that’s out in the fields on the farm. I go to tons of markets, and people recognize me and associate me with the farm, but my dad has been out all day doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff.”

Sam Utecht. Photo by Gustavo Gutierrez

“The whole point of a farmers market is that you can ask questions, that you can talk to the vendors. We raise all our own animals. I should be able to answer just about anything. And for whatever reason I can’t, I’m going to get an answer because I want to be able to explain my living to the best of my ability.”

“You should be able to ask the vendors how they do things, why they do things this way versus that way. And that’s why we do our business.”

Chris Utecht. Photo by Gustavo Gutierrez

Chris compared conventionally grown produce at grocery stores versus what you can find at farmers’ markets; “There’s a huge difference between a tomato from the farmers market versus even a hydroponic one. There’s some really good hydroponics, but you get one that’s grown in soil- the kind you can get at the farmers market right now- they are premium.”

“I would sooner have somebody’s old tomato that a vendor rejected to sell at the farmers’ market right now than the best in the grocery store in the wintertime. There’s such a difference. And it’s like that for all the vegetables at the farmers’ market. I mean, everything is beautiful right now.”

My visit to their farm confirmed that the Utechts are caring and generous, eager to give only the best. One time, while I was getting supplies to decorate the farmers’ market info table for a special event, I went up to their stand and asked if they had any old corn cobs they didn’t need. “I gotchu.” Bryan said. He gave me an entire tall corn stalk.

Utechts Homegrown Pork sells at the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market year-round. Learn more on their webpage: Home – Utecht’s Home Grown Pork

Blanching Kohlrabi

Juni Hovland — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 18:59:03 +0000

Blanching, then freezing, is one of the easiest ways to preserve a Minnesotan fall harvest for winter enjoyment. You likely already have everything you need in your kitchen to start this food preservation method.

Blanching involves briefly scalding produce in boiling water and then immediately plunging it into an ice bath to halt the cooking process. It stops the enzymatic process that causes vegetables to lose their flavor, texture, and nutrients. Boiling also helps to remove any residual dirt and bacteria.

Blanching time varies depending on the vegetable. Avoid overblanching or underblanching. You can find exact boiling times for most vegetables on university extension webpages, such as the U of MN: Preserving food at home: Blanching vegetables | UMN Extension

Tools needed:

Tall strainer. Tongs also work as long as you can rapidly transfer the kohlrabi from the boiling water to the ice bath
Large Pot
Knife and cutting board
Large bowl or container for ice bath
Ice (around 2-3 ice trays)
Ziploc bags

Prep the Kohlrabi and Tools

First, chop off the leaves from the stem, and then wash them in a bin of water. Remove yellow or damaged leaves. The leaves and bulbous stem will be blanched and stored separately because they cook for different lengths of time. Trim and discard the stems from the leaves, chop the leaves, and place them into a bowl. For the bulbous stem, chop off the top and bottom and peel or cut off the tough outer skin. Cut into cubes and place in a bowl.

Note: Depending on how much Kohlrabi you have, you’ll likely need to go through the blanching process for a few batches. The leaves cannot be packed together; they need enough space to boil evenly.

Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Have extra ice ready to add for each new batch.

The Blanching Process for Leaves

Fill a large pot about ¾ of the way full with water and bring to a boil.
Using a strainer, dip kohlrabi leaves into the boiling water. Use a wooden spoon to press down any floating leaves and stir. Set a timer for 2 minutes
Once the two minutes are up, immediately transfer and submerge into an ice bath. Stir the leaves in the ice bath. Remove from the ice bath after 2 minutes, squeeze out water, and place on a kitchen towel. Pat dry and package into Ziploc bags.
Add more ice to the ice bath as needed and repeat the blanching process until all the leaves are done.

The Blanching Process for the Bulbous Stem

Fill a large pot about ¾ of the way full with water and bring to a boil (Or use the same one that you used for the leaves).
Using a tall strainer, submerge kohlrabi leaves into the boiling water. Set a timer for 1 minute.
Once the minute is up, immediately transfer and submerge into an ice bath. Stir the leaves in the ice bath. Remove from the ice bath after a minute. Pat dry with a kitchen towel. Package in a Ziploc bag and freeze.
If necessary. Repeat the process and add more ice to the ice bath.

Saint Paul Farmers’ Market Selected as a 2026 National Farmers’ Market Week Spotlight Market

Juni Hovland — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:22:47 +0000

The community is invited to celebrate National Farmers’ Market Week with us at the Downtown St. Paul Farmers’ Market on Saturday, August 8th, from 9 AM to 12 PM.

Saint Paul, MN —08/05/2026 — Saint Paul Farmers’ Market is proud to announce its selection as one of the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association’s (MFMA) 2026 National Farmers’ Market Week Spotlight Markets, recognizing its commitment to supporting local farmers, strengthening the local food system, and creating a vibrant gathering place for the community.

National Farmers’ Market Week, celebrated August 2–8, 2026, is an annual nationwide celebration established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to recognize the important role farmers’ markets play in supporting local agriculture, expanding food access, fostering entrepreneurship, and building stronger communities.

As one of nine Spotlight Markets selected from across Minnesota, Saint Paul Farmers’ Market will join communities statewide in celebrating this year’s campaign theme:

Growing Strong Together

Growing Farmers. Growing Markets. Growing Communities.

During the farmers’ market, visitors are invited to experience everything that makes Saint Paul Farmers’ Market unique—from meeting local farmers and discovering fresh, locally grown foods to supporting small businesses, connecting with neighbors, and celebrating the people who make our local food system thrive.

“We are honored to be selected as a spotlight market for National Farmers’ Market Week. After 172 years in the Saint Paul community, we are excited to keep innovating fresh ideas to feed our community and support a resilient local food system,” said Executive Director Jim Golden

During National Farmers’ Market Week, Saint Paul Farmers’ Market will host the following celebrations and activities on Saturday, August 8th, 9 AM – 12 PM. There is free parking at 420 Prince St. E.

Farmers’ Market Spring Rolls: samples & cooking demo by Chef Sina
Craft Zone: Veggie Stamp Art + T-Shirt Painting
Choo Choo Bob’s Train Activities
Farmers’ Market Tent: Merch, Giveaways, and More!
Live Music by Lost Golden Toads

The community is encouraged to join in the celebration by visiting the market, shopping local, meeting farmers, trying seasonal Minnesota-grown foods, and sharing their experience on social media using #NationalFarmersMarketWeek and #StPaulFarmersMarket

While this recognition highlights nine Spotlight Markets across Minnesota, the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association emphasizes that every farmers’ market plays an essential role in strengthening Minnesota’s local food system. From small rural markets to neighborhood and urban markets, each creates opportunities for farmers and food entrepreneurs to thrive while providing communities with access to fresh, local foods and meaningful connections.

“National Farmers’ Market Week is about more than celebrating one market—it’s about celebrating the entire network of farmers, market managers, volunteers, vendors, and community members who make local food possible,” said Kathy Zeman, Executive Director of the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association. “Our Spotlight Markets help tell the story of Minnesota’s incredible farmers’ markets, but every market across our state contributes to growing stronger communities.”

Saint Paul Farmers’ Market has been a staple of Saint Paul since the city’s early days. It served as the city’s first public market when the year-round market house opened in Downtown Saint Paul in 1854. Today, beneath permanent awnings, crowds gather every weekend at the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market to buy fresh veggies, fruit, dairy products, baked goods, preserved food, and more, all grown or produced close to home within 100 miles of the market.

Last year, the Saint Paul Farmers’ Market expanded its operations with a new Indoor Market and Country Store to serve as a home base for the local food system, as an incubator for emerging food producers, and a community gathering space. A large commercial kitchen provides space for bakers, canners, and other food producers. The country store stocks exclusively local farmers’ market products, including fresh produce, dairy, ready-to-eat, frozen, dried, and canned items, as well as other items made by local food producers. The space features a tortilleria and coffee shop serving ready-to-eat food in a casual dining hall. The Indoor Market expands access to local food 6 days a week, Tuesday-Sunday, from 7 am-3 pm.

National Farmers’ Market Week is celebrated annually during the first full week of August and recognizes the vital role farmers’ markets play in strengthening local economies, supporting family farms, improving access to healthy foods, and creating vibrant community gathering places across the country.

Minnesota Sweet Corn

Juni Hovland — Thu, 16 Jul 2026 19:28:49 +0000

“What more can a reasonable man desire, in peaceful times, in ordinary noon, than a sufficient number of ears of green sweet corn boiled, with the addition of salt?” – Henry David Thoreau

Sweet, buttery, salted grilled corn is the outdoor cooking staple. Perhaps your richest memory of sweet corn is stopping at a roadside farm stand on your way to camping, then later grilling the fresh cobs over a fire. From backyard parties with a buffet in the garage to grilling at a cookout overlooking a deep blue lake, biting into the buttery, juicy grain tastes like late summer and all the activity and fun that comes along with it. And how could you visit the Minnesota State Fair without crunching into a corn-on-the- cob?

Corn is grown and eaten on every continent except Antarctica. We can thank Indigenous people for domesticating corn’s ancestor, teosinte, about 10,000 years ago in what’s now Mexico. It was widely traded throughout the Americas, also called Turtle Island. Indigenous people developed hundreds of varieties, including sweet corn. “Three Sisters” farming entails planting corn, climbing beans, and squash together. The corn serves as a natural trellis for the beans, the beans fix atmospheric nitrogen, making it available in the soil for the corn and squash to use, and the squash’s wide leaves stifle weeds, preserve soil moisture, and deter pests. This low-maintenance Indigenous farming practice fed communities for millennia. Native corn seeds have been passed down for countless generations and hold deep cultural heritage. Locally, Dream of Wild Health preserves seeds of numerous native corn varieties.

About 99% of corn grown in Minnesota is field corn, used for livestock feed, ethanol, industrial or consumer products, or other food additives, such as high-fructose corn syrup. Field corn is left on the stalks to dry until harvest in late fall. Sweet corn, on the other hand, is grown for our consumption. Sweet corn was developed by Indigenous farmers long before European colonization. Sweet Corn typically peaks in Minnesota in late July through mid-September. It is sweet because of a natural genetic mutation that slows the conversion of sugars to starch. Modern sweet corn can have as much as 40% sugar content. Responsible for roughly a quarter of all sweet corn grown nationally, Minnesota ranks as the number one producer! Sweet corn is best when eaten shortly after harvest before the sugary content is lost. Buying at the Farmers’ Market is one of the best ways to get the freshest sweet corn!

Sweet Corn – Minnesota Grown. Minnesota Grown’s resource on sweet corn, featuring a sweet corn finder, tips for buying, cooking, and preserving it.

Home – Dream of Wild Health. Check out this local organization recovering Native food! They have a corn festival coming up this fall! (20+) Corn Fest | Facebook

Vendor Spotlight: Jamming with Chris

Juni Hovland — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 21:31:09 +0000

“I really fell in love with how it brings people together, and you can have common ground to share your day with people that you know, or people that you don’t know, over a tasty piece of food.”

Chris Fishbach of Two Loaves and a Fish grew up in the kitchen learning how to cook from his grandma and mom. Those hours together sparked a lifelong love for food and a culinary career. He brings his experiences and expertise developed over the years in his studies of culinary traditions in Spain, France, and Italy, and as a chef in the Twin Cities, to his small business of making specialty preserved foods made from locally grown ingredients, usually purchased from his fellow vendors right at the farmers’ market.

“I started my cooking career and culinary journey down in Milwaukee. I went to culinary school and learned how to cook in restaurants down there. Then I made my way up to Menominee to go to UW Stout. Now, I’ve been here in Minneapolis and St. Paul for the past eight years or so.

One of my favorite sayings for the business, the way we do things, is ‘underappreciated to elevated’. So, kind of taking a fruit or a veggie or a piece of produce that you wouldn’t quite think of as the star of the show and making a pickle or a product out of it where that ingredient can shine and add something unique to a dish, as well as being able to stand out on its own. So taking something that’s underappreciated and elevating it to what it can be or showing you what you could do with it. It just takes a little bit of imagination and a little bit of trial and error.”

“I’ve always gravitated towards farm-to-table restaurants or places or bakeries where we work with the seasons. I wanted to carry that into my business. I really like working with local ingredients and having a bunch of it to work with at the time when it’s in season. I like learning how to preserve it either through a pickle or a jam or a relish, and being able to keep it for later on in the year.

I learned how to pickle and preserve at farm-to-table restaurants. I’m keeping that tradition going through working with the local produce at the markets and with what’s in season. I might do a jam for a month when that berry is in season, but then I won’t make my next batch until the next year. I’m highlighting what we have right now, and once it’s gone, you know, it’s gone.”

Chris and his friend are prepping lemons

“When I make all my pickles or jams or relishes, I source everything from the market. It goes right to the farmers who are selling right next door to me. I get to kind of learn what they’re growing. And then I can kind of change my menu every other week with something new, like a new pickle, jam, or relish.

I really enjoy highlighting local produce that’s right here in our own backyard, to highlighting someone else’s hard work and making a tasty product using the produce that this family put all the hard work into. We get to kind of capture that in a jam or a relish. It’s a really, really fun way to do business!”

Embedded in each of his jams are memories, traditions, and community. Even his logo was created with help from his dad, who painted the fish, and his neighbor, who vectorized the art and turned it into a logo. Chris’s preserved foods highlight our exceptional local ingredients and celebrate the people behind them.

TWO LOAVES AND A FISH | Discover Fresh Flavor