By Audrey Posten
Aug. 2-8 is National Farmers Market Week. The celebration is held annually the first full week in August to raise awareness of the role farmers markets play in the nation’s food system and in fostering community.
Guttenberg’s farmers markets runs on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, from mid-May into October, on the 400 block of South River Park Drive. Vendors offer a range of locally-produced goods.
That includes vegetables and baked goods from Brogie’s Produce, who have been a market staple for around five years.
“My husband bought a sweet corn business. He expanded into vegetables and me into baked goods. It’s gotten bigger and bigger,” shared Mary Broghammer. “Now, we have a lot of regular customers.”
In addition to Brogie’s, patrons can also find sweet treats and some produce from 3 Girls Baked goods.
DiAna Werger said she, her daughter and granddaughter make up the “3 Girls,” and started selling four years ago to raise money for a trip to Europe. “We haven’t quit,” she joked.
Their selection includes pies, cakes, cupcakes, bars, cookies, muffins, scones, sweet breads and cinnamon rolls.
New to the market this year is Butter and Batter, operated by Ashley Schindler, who enjoys putting her baking degree to use making sweet breads, homemade caramels, cookies and more.
“It’s a passion,” she said. “It brings me joy and is therapy.”
At the Elsinger Family Farms booth, Gina Dahlstrom-Osburn turns berries, apples, pears, plums, peppers and other foods into a variety of jams, jellies and preserves, marmalade and apple and pear butter. Her expertise spans 25 years, including experience in a commercial kitchen.
Holly Dickson adds color to the market with Friendship Flowers. She’s been growing flowers in Guttenberg for six years, specializing in peonies and supplying wedding florists. She enjoys participating in the farmers market, too, where different flowers and colors are popular.
“It started as a side hustle—something to do,” she. “I really enjoy it.”
For a selection of dream catchers, jewelry and crystals, along with soaps, bath salts and candles, check out Syringa Products. Jodie Changnga-Mathis said she started doing the market two years ago to increase sales and step outside her comfort zone.
“I do a lot of things on my own, and this has pushed me to interact and get out in the community,” she said. “It’s been one of the best things for the business.”
Two of the newest vendors are Ava Willenbring and Abby Ungs, friends who share A&A Crochet. Ava’s mom taught her how to crochet at age 7, and she’s continued to learn on her own. Abby was inspired by Ava and is largely self-taught by YouTube.
After previously selling in Dyersville, they like that the Guttenberg market is local and close.
“We mostly make animals with fluffy yarn,” Ungs said. “They are great gifts.”
“They are cute,” Willenbring added.
The vendors say they like providing locally-sourced goods that customers often don’t have the time or ability to grow or make on their own.
“A lot of people don’t do their own baking,” Werger noted.
“Some people do their own [jams and preserves],” Dahlstrom-Osburn added, “but it’s time consuming and you have to have the inventory and supplies to process. And not everyone has the space or expertise.”
Broghammer said it’s the same for gardens.
“It gets people healthy vegetables if they don’t have the space for a garden,” she shared. “It’s picked the night before and better for you than what comes from the store. The home baked goods are also better for you. There’s a lot less ingredients than what you buy in the store.”
Schindler appreciates the variety.
“There’s a little bit of everything for everybody,” she said. “It brings the community together and keeps it local.”
That sense of community is what vendors appreciate most. The farmers market brings people to Guttenberg, they said, and forges relationships between fellow vendors as well as their customers.
“I enjoy coming out and seeing people. A lot of customers come back,” Werger said.
“I talk to tourists and locals, building a report and getting my name out there. I get a feel for what they are looking for,” Changnga-Mathis added.
“I enjoy the relationships with other vendors,” Dickson stated, “and it gets people out. They come out and talk and visit.”
With customers from all over Iowa and even Florida, Georgia and California, Dahlstrom-Osburn described farmers market vendors as “basically ambassadors for the town.”
“We get a lot of visitors and we talk about what else they can do here,” she said.
Learn more about the Guttenberg Farmers Market and vendors on the Guttenberg Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
