St. Charles Farmers' Market Opens With Few Vendors

Saturday morning marked the opening of the St. Charles Farmers' Market off of Riverside Drive. 

The market, which is open from 6 a.m. to noon on Saturdays through October, is run by St. Charles Lions Club. 

Unlike other farmers' markets in the region that have musical performers, this is a traditional market where farmers and vendors pay for a few parking spaces and sell fruits and veggies out of the back of their car.

Traffic at the market was slow around 9 a.m. Saturday, but Marion Kirn, of Calhoun County, IL, said she expects it will increase as farmers have more produce to sell. 

"The crowd grows as the summer goes on," she said. 

Kirn sold onions, lettuce, sweet and tart cherries and rhubarb at the market on Saturday. She said her family has been selling at the market for 29 years. 

Crystal Fonseca sold a variety of produce grown on Fonseca Farms, which is located in St. Peters. They grow produce in greenhouses and in fields. Crystal said they picked the items that sold Saturday the night before.

Other vendors included Charlie Adams, a St. Charles resident selling Grandpa Spencer's Sweet and Spicy Mustard, and people selling plants, craft and jam.