While organizers with the German Coast Farmers’ Market are excited to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the east bank market being held at the Destrehan library, they say there is still a lot of work to be done to bring the west bank market back to a thriving state after Hurricane Ida.
The farmers’ market board operates two events each week. On Saturdays the east bank market takes place on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the St. Charles Parish East Regional Library, located at 160 West Campus Drive in Destrehan. On Wednesdays a west bank market is held from 1 to 5 p.m. at the St. Charles Parish West Bank Bridge Park, located at 13825 River Road in Luling.
Mary Keller, who is on the farmers’ market board and sells at the markets with NOLA Tamales, said each market was affected by Hurricane Ida. But while the east bank market was able to be operational just weeks after Hurricane Ida, park repairs on the west bank meant that that market was closed until January of this year.
“We’re really trying right now to rebuild that market,” Keller said of the Wednesday offering. “We do have seven dedicated vendors who are out there every week.”
Visibility of the west bank market seemed to hinder rebuilding efforts, Keller said, because up until recently the market was being held under the pavilion at the park and not in the main parking lot.
“People would just drive by and not see the vendors so they assumed they weren’t there,” Keller said. “But now everyone is back in the parking lot.”
Vendors at Wednesday’s market include Mama Mary’s Kitchen, which sells pepper jellies, fruit jams, fruit jellies, and sweet heat jalapenos and pickles. Bees Are My Business is also present, and that tent boasts of honey, honey butter, fruit flavored honey butter, pickled items, fruit, vegetables, eggs, honeycomb, wax melts, candles, baked goods, freshly squeezed juice, spicy vinegar, and dehydrated fruit.
NOLA Tamales offers New Orleans style beef hot tamales, tamale balls, sausage and andouille gumbo, potato salad, and 7-Layer Mexican dip to weekday market patrons, which Queen Ursula Highly Flavored sells a variety of hot food plates and weekly specials. Story Farm is at the west bank market each week with fresh fruit, vegetables, and cracklin, while Sandy’s Sweets and Treats sells a variety of hot foods, breads, cakes, pies, cookies, brownies, popcorn balls, pecan candy, muffins, fruit drinks, teas, hot chocolate, and coffee.
Sassy Cajun Spices rounds out the market’s Wednesday offerings with a variety of spices.
Keller said that since Wednesday’s market moved back into the parking lot business has seemed to pick up, but that the weekday crowd of patrons is nowhere near the large crowds that are drawn to the Saturday market.
“We recently had over 700 people come out to Saturday’s market,” she said.
Keller said the farmers’ market board would love to add more vendors, and draw more patrons, out to the weekday offering.
For more information on becoming a vendor or other information at the German Coast Farmers’ Market, visit www.germancoastfarmersmarket.org.
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