SOUTH JORDAN – At the South Jordan Farmers Market, the greeting is as fresh as the produce.
“How can we help you?” said Matt Hargreaves to a customer browsing baskets of fruit.
Of course, when it comes to produce, it doesn’t get much fresher than at a local farmers market.
And sometimes, what you really get is stories.
“I had a college roommate from Astoria,” Hargreaves said while looking at a customer’s shirt that had Astoria on it. “His dad was the police chief and got to meet and was like an extra in the movie.”
Hargreaves helps run McMullin Orchards in Payson, but what he really loves is meeting people at farmers markets like this one in South Jordan.
“It’s great. Like we sell to stores. We sell a lot of places. But it’s always good when you can sell right to customers and consumers. They get to know you and they talk to you a little bit about it,” he said.
His smile might be a little bigger lately because he just returned from Washington, D.C., where he showcased Utah apples, peaches and other goods.
“It was part of what they are calling the Great American Farmers Market and it was all to kick off what they’re calling America 250,” Hargreaves said. “So next summer will be America’s 250th anniversary since signing the Declaration of Independence.”
Hargreaves took video of the event, where farmers from across the country brought their products to celebrate America’s agricultural heritage with the National Mall as a backdrop.
Tyson Roberts of Roberts Family Farms in Layton also attended, both representing the Utah Farm Bureau.
“We really went there thinking it was going to be awesome to represent Utah (agriculture) and really showcase some of our products,” Roberts said. “Maybe talk to some people from the country. We ended up talking to people from around the world.”
One trend they noticed, both in D.C. and back home, is that people are becoming more interested in knowing where their food comes from.
“One thing recently was COVID. COVID-19,” Roberts said. “We saw empty food shelves in the grocery stores and I think it made a lot of people think, you know, ‘maybe I ought to learn more about the food chain.'”
Local farmers markets are about as food as it gets when it comes to learning about the food you buy.
“These are all grown at our orchards down in Payson,” Hargreaves told customers as they picked out fruit.
“When you come to a market, that’s your chance to interact with that farmer,” he said.
And for the farmers, that interaction goes both ways.
“Thanks for coming, you guys,” Hargreaves said to customers who left with a bag full of fresh produce.
