Interest growing in Boerne Farmer’s Market

The onions, huge. The fragrance, lush lavender. The eggs, fresh. The cinnamon rolls, organic. And tasty.

Week two of the new Boerne Farmer’s Market saw a steady stream of customers turn out to purchase goods grown on farms and produced locally.

“People are giving us feedback: they want this in our community. They are looking forward to it,” said Dondi Persyn, Boerne Farmer’s Market vice president and marketing director.

Every Tuesday from 4-7 p.m., Persyn and the Boerne Farmer’s Market board and directors will be on hand at the former courthouse building parking lot at 402 E. Blanco Road, where dozens of vendors set up and sell their handmade and homegrown food items.

“When we founded this market, that was our main focus — to bring real whole local foods and just focus on that,” Persyn said.

The market’s roots are yesteryear, she said.

“Historically, people would come and they knew their farmers, they knew where the food came from. We really want to foster that connection here,” she said. “These people are my neighbors; I know how they grow their food and raise their food. That makes me comfortable.”

A veritable smorgasbord of vendors stand behind their tables, tents overhead and customers out front. Monica DiCianni is with Skinny Legs Provisions out of Kerrville. “We are active in two other farmer’s markets and they found us. Last week was busy; and we’ll be here every Tuesday,” she said. Popular items include her sourdough breads and regular breads, made from wheat milled in-house. “ And everything’s organic,” she added Selling his all-natural salsa — made with just five ingredients: serrano peppers, roma tomatoes, pink salt, olive oil and water — was Chuck “Edgardo” Cammack, of Edgardo’s Homemade Salsa.

Edgardo’s has a shop in Kerrville and uses a commercial kitchen in Fredericksburg, where Cammack expects to relocate due to the demand for the product.

“We were here at the inaugural farmer’s market. Turnout was great; the community support is just phenomenal,” Cammack said. “We’re here again this week. Traffic is good, sales are good, and we plan to be here every week.”

The opening week, April 16, included a Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce ribbon- cutting and brought hundreds of people.

Persyn said the farmer’s market team “wants to make sure there’s a variety (of vendors) and that everybody has their chance to bring produce. We want to bring in as much produce and do it in a fair way.”

A vendor list is available online at boernefm.com.