As consumers become increasingly drawn to local food markets – farms serving the Sioux Falls area have been happy to meet the new demand.
Many are even using local produce to create “fresher-tasting” meals for the holidays.
Sioux Falls area residents gathered at the Falls Park Farmer’s Market to buy produce on a Thursday evening before Thanksgiving. The market hasn’t been open since October, and it won’t open again until May 2025.
Consumers from the area gathered to pick up produce from the Cornucopia – a farm a little over an hour away in Sioux Center, Iowa.
Typically, by this time in the year most of the growing seasons for local farmers have ended. However - the Cornucopia utilizes farming strategies to extend their produce growth and sales into late fall.
Ana Timmer is the Assistant Farm Manager for the Cornucopia. She handed out produce to customers in the sub-freezing temperatures. She said the farm can extend its growing seasons by utilizing high tunnels.
"The high tunnel adds about 11-13 degrees of extra protection from the outside. It kind of depends a little bit on the weather and how sunny it is and that kind of thing. So, we’re able to really extend our growing season late into the fall that way and pretty early on in the spring. Another thing that we do is we use something called ‘row cover’ which is basically like a big blanket for plants. And that adds anywhere from 2-3 degrees of extra warmth. So, we can kind of like, extend it beyond that,” Timmer said.
Timmer said that many farming industries use hot houses – but these are different than the high tunnels. One key difference is that hot houses have cement floors whereas the Cornucopia’s high tunnels are made to plant crops into soil ground.
Timmer said the Cornucopia is able to provide fresh produce into the holiday seasons by paying attention to what is being cropped when.
“Being mindful of planting crops that are designed to handle cold weather and utilizing those aspects of them so that we can continue to harvest of it longer. We’re not going to try to plant tomatoes in January; that doesn’t work out. But just kind of using those strategies to extend our growing season for as long as possible,” Timmer said.
She specifically mentioned spinach and lettuce as some crops that can handle lower temperatures.
Caryn Hanmer is a customer. She said it’s produce like this that are best to feed her family.
“I think just being able to experience the produce as it was intended. It’s not adulterated, it’s not injected, it’s not compromised at all Last night I made chicken, and I roasted carrots and potatoes and onions and garlic all that came from my CSA box from Farmer John,” Hanmer said.
Hanmer said she intends to use this produce from the Cornucopia for her family’s Thanksgiving celebration.
Grace Pokela is a repeat customer for the Cornucopia. She said the quality of produce makes standing in line amid sub-freezing temperatures worth it.
“The vegetables just taste so much better. Tomatoes, I think is the one that comes to mind. You can buy tomatoes in the supermarket all year round, great, but when you eat them they don’t taste like anything," Pokela said. "The taste is unmatched and I also just appreciate that I’m not supporting the worldwide shipping of food and contributing to climate change in that way. I like, I appreciate supporting someone who’s local and building a relationship that way. And so, there’s a lot of things about it that I just love for practical ends."
Ana Timmer holds similar sentiments. She said the community is what makes it all worth it.
“The part about going to a farmer’s market that I love is that you look your customer in the eye. That’s not something that happens in a grocery store," Timmer said. "This is something that only happens in a direct-to-consumer market. And I see regular customers week after week after being here. When you see someone week after week after week you have these small, little conversations over a period of 26 weeks where you end up, by the end of the market season, knowing them actually pretty well."
While shoppers are doing some last-minute holiday shopping, they appreciate the fresh produce to add to their table knowing they’re supporting local.
