Alyson Sturgis bakes outside the box.
“Most of the things I do are a little bit of a twist,” Sturgis said. “I have peanut butter miso cookies. I have London fog scones.”
She also offers everything from sourdough loaves to freshly milled flour.
Sturgis is the owner of 1050 Bakehouse, which is in the process of a name change to Aly’s Bakehouse and Kitchen.
She’s been a vendor at the Macomb Farmers Market the last four years after leaving a 30-year corporate career during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was an organic evolution, but if anybody had ever told me I’d be doing this, I would have laughed,” she said.
Sturgis will be there with her unique and locally baked goods – including freshly baked rhubarb cake -- bright and early Saturday morning for the first Macomb Farmers Market of the season. It runs from 8 a.m. to noon.
“We have 24 vendors and about half of them are returning vendors,” Sturgis said.
Earlier this year, the Macomb Farmers Market officially became a non-profit organization. In addition to being a vendor, Sturgis serves as president of the non-profit’s board.
The non-profit status comes with several benefits, such as being able to write grants and get money for promotional items like signs and to purchase umbrella insurance to lower costs for vendors.
It also means the market will soon have a USDA match for Link benefits.
Sturgis said to expect strawberries, rhubarb, starter plants, and much more at the early-season markets.
"We have a new mushroom vendor. We have a coffee truck. We will have some breakfast," Sturgis said. "Hopefully within the next couple of weeks, we have much prepared food that you can sit and eat. We’re working on children’s activities and we will have live music."
Dan Eilers will play at this Saturday's Macomb Farmers Market starting at 9 a.m. Next week will be Bob Logan.
Sturgis said part of mission statement for the Macomb Farmers Market is to build community and to provide a developmental place for young entrepreneurs.
For instance, Audrey Hood from the McDonough County CEO program will be selling crochet flowers at the market once school is out – and Sturgis would like to see more students participate.
“We would like it to be a place were people can come and interact,” Sturgis said. Where everybody can come together and create community.”
Sturgis said for the first four weeks, when there’s not a lot of local produce, the Macomb Farmers Market will only be on Saturdays. But beginning May 30, there will also be a produce market on Thursdays.
The Galesburg Farmers Market season also opens Saturday, May 4, in the lot at 362 E. Simmons St.
It will run from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday from now until September.
Organizer Kathy Walker has been involved with the Galesburg Farmers Market since 2011.
“Right now, we already have 39 vendors signed up for the market,” Walker said.
A couple dozen of those were set to be there on opening day.
The Galesburg Farmers Market will feature everything from micro-greens and other fresh produce to baked goods and tie-dyed shirts – and a vendor will cook breakfast on-site a couple times a month.
Walker said it’s a really friendly place where you get to know people in the community, and you also get to learn more about locally grown farms.
“You get to see what’s new with the farms in the surrounding area, what they’re growing, what it’s like for them week to week with the weather,” Walker said.
New this year in Knox County will be a farmers market in Knoxville from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays. It will also run from May to September.
Here’s a roundup of farmers markets around the region.
Burlington
Burlington’s downtown farmers market kicked off this week, too, and will run through October.
The Jefferson Street Farmers Market runs every Thursday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the 300 to 500 blocks of Jefferson Street.
The market features fresh and local produce, baked goods, food vendors, live music more.
Special events this month include the following live music on May 9; horse and trolley rides, a pet parade, and live music on May 16; and live music on May 23.
The Jefferson Street Farmers Market is organized by Downtown Partners and the May markets are made possible by Farmers Savings Bank. For more information, call Downtown Partners at (319)208-0046.
Carthage
Mark your calendars for Carthage’s farmers market.
It’s planned for noon to 3 p.m. every Monday, from May 13 through September on the northwest corner of the courthouse lawn.
Call (217) 357-3141 if you interested in becoming a vendor.
Fort Madison
Fort Madison’s farmers market will start on June 3 and run through September.
It’s in Central park from 4 to 6 p.m. on Mondays.
New vendors are welcome. For more information, contact chamber@fortmadison.com
Galesburg
Starting May 4, the Galesburg Farmers Market will run from 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through September.
The location is 362 E. Simmons St.
Keokuk
The Keokuk Farmers Market will open May 11 from 8 a.m. to 11:30am. The Market season will end September 28. For more information, call (217)242-4061.
Knoxville
New this year in Knox County will be a farmers market in Knoxville from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays. It will also run from May to September.
Monmouth
The Monmouth farmers market will continue to be on Friday nights, but there’s a new location this year.
Monmouth Friday Farmers Market & More will be from 5 to 7 p.m. May 31 through Aug. 30 outside of the Warren County History Museum, 238 S. Sunny Lane.
Organizers say the new location has plenty of parking. For more information, contact monmouthfarmersmarket@gmail.com.
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