Get it Fresh from the Farm at Mills River Market

Just like the fruits and vegetables that are sold there, the Mills River Farm Market is growing.

The market is finishing up its first year of offering area residents the best in food that is locally grown and made. Held every Saturday morning in the parking lot of Mills River Commons on N.C. 280, the farmer’s market has steadily grown since starting in August 2009.

On Saturday, the market held a fall festival featuring antique tractors and automobiles, music, hit-and-miss engines, and of course, plenty of fresh-from-the-farm food.

Jim Reed, one of the market’s main volunteers, said the market has been a win-win situation for everyone involved.

“The farmers are getting a fair price for their fresh produce, and customers are getting the best and the freshest that Mills River and the area has to offer, and they’re getting it at a fair price,” said Reed. “The other thing I like about the tailgate market is the sense of community that’s emerging here. Neighbors are running into neighbors.”

Reed said the market started out humbly with four vendors. It has since grown to 18 and is governed by its own nonprofit association. In addition to finding your basic fruits and veggies, the market offers sausage, honey, eggs and fresh-baked breads. If you’re a seafood lover, you can even take home some fresh North Carolina shrimp and trout.

“Even though tomato and sweet corn season has left us, we have a nice variety of winter greens. Paul’s got the last tomatoes in Henderson County,” he said with a chuckle. “We have fresh honey and fresh baked goods.”

The market accepts vendors from a 50-mile radius around Mills River. Reaching out that far, he said, allows South Carolina farmers to bring their peaches here. It is a producer-only market, meaning all vendors have to produce what they sell.

“That’s one thing the customers appreciate. They know what they are getting,” he said. “People enjoy associating a face with their food.”

If you’re looking for some fresh produce, you have a few more weeks left to get to the Mills River market. The final day is November 6. But Reed assured everyone the market will be back in 2011.

“We’re here to stay,” he said.

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