Twin Cities’ BIPOC owned, operated farmers markets offer food, culture, community

For Destiny Jones, an Indigenous-owned farmers market is key to preserving Indigenous traditions, especially in a city, she says, that can sometimes be hostile and isolating to the community. 

“It’s really exciting to be at the market, and to see all of these people that know each other or meeting up and looking around together,” Jones said. 

She operates the Four Sisters’ Farmers Market in Minneapolis’ East Phillips neighborhood, which aims to preserve Indigenous traditions through Indigenous vendors who sell goods such as traditional pine cone jelly, jewelry, fresh fruits and vegetables and more. 

While the market caters towards Indigenous people, Jones also wants it to serve as an educational opportunity for non-Indigenous people. 

“When you’re working with Indigenous spaces, there are people that may already know what Ojibwe art looks like in comparison to Dakota art,” Jones said. “Vendors have to be prepared to answer those questions and facilitate a conversation.” 

The market is one of several local farmers markets owned or operated by people who are Indigenous or people of color. BIPOC owners and operators say they aim to create a safe space for people to connect with one another, and to share cultural experiences. 

“People wanted to see each other, say hi to each other and really connect with folks even if people aren’t there for a market event,” said Mo Hanson, director of the Midtown Farmers Market. 

The Midtown Farmers Market, which was founded by the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization, wants to make food accessible for the community, Hanson said. The market is located near the Lake Street/Midtown light rail station in Minneapolis, which provides visibility and accessibility in an area experiencing high rates of poverty, she said. 

“While it’s nice to have access to grocery stores as a person who can afford to shop at them, we need a space that has alternative pricing and modes of commerce,” Hanson said. 

The market sells food, flowers, coffee, bread, produce and self-care items. 

Hanson said a person-centered approach to food access is an important part of the market’s philosophy, which encourages customers to interact with vendors and neighbors. 

“We invite people to come take a load off, and hang out and share space with their neighbor,” Hanson said. “That’s not something you get from a store that’s based off of purely commerce.

“Our neighbors know what we’re here to do. They come with kindness, everyone brings a smile. If they can’t bring a smile, they just bring their sense of community.” 

The market serves as a space for people who may not feel comfortable going to a grocery store due to accessibility needs or other factors, she said. 

“We are really filling in a space for folks that have sensory needs that are not accommodated in a big box store,” Hanson said. “We try to fill in every niche we can for our community members because food is necessary for survival.” 

One way the market makes food accessible is through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Electronic Benefits Transfer (SNAP EBT) matching program. The market provides monetary assistance for people to purchase food, said Macy-Chau Tran, program and communications director for the Midtown Farmers Market. For example, if someone spends $10 of their SNAP EBT benefits at the market, they will receive $20 from the market for additional purchases there.

The SNAP program is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and provides people from low-income backgrounds a debit card preloaded with a set amount of funds to purchase nutritious food.

“The Midtown Farmers Market was the first farmer’s market in Minnesota to accept SNAP EBT in 2006,” Tran said. “Food access and affordability has always been a really big value and priority for us.” 

To ensure they can continue to provide the community access to goods, the market vets vendors based on their needs and motivations, Hanson said. 

“What are you selling? Why are you passionate about what you sell? That’s a question that I ask folks when we select vendors,” Hanson said. “We, like many other markets, are hoping for a well-rounded space with many different options.” 

The Four Sisters’ Farmers Market was created in 2014 by the Native American Community Development Institute in hopes of providing knowledge about the Indigenous community to the residents of East Phillips. 

“We make sure that early entrepreneurs have space to get their businesses off the ground by facilitating a space at the market and helping them connect with resources that can help them further their business,” Jones said. 

DeVon Nolen manages the People’s Market in north Minneapolis, a Black-owned market that kicked off their second farmers market season last Saturday. Nolen said her previous job as a food justice consultant with the Northside Fresh Coalition allowed her understand the issues surrounding food insecurity in north Minneapolis. That includes a lack of access to grocery stores after some left the surrounding area, she said. 

Last year, Walgreens and Aldi closed locations in north Minneapolis, and Walmart closed a store in nearby Brooklyn Center.

“It is structural and institutional racism,” Nolen said. “There’s a long history of divestment and disinvestment in north Minneapolis. It wasn’t that these stores weren’t profitable, it wasn’t that there was so much theft. Gentrification is already happening. You collapse the food markets, the schools, and the community is no longer in value and then the businesses leave.” 

After losing the three stores, Nolen felt compelled to provide food access to people in the area, so she founded the People’s Market. 

“My goal is to always serve the invisible people, because there is a lot of classism and elitism that happens in our city, and I’m a victim of it,” Nolen said. “We really don’t have a place in Minneapolis to celebrate our culture.” 

Nolen said she feels proud to have started the market, and hopes it will rewrite narratives that other people have about the Black community. 

“People say that we’re hopeless and we don’t have any pride, but that’s an absolute lie,” Nolen said. “We just don’t have a space to celebrate it without being called anti-something else.” 

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