People's 100-Mile Market Every Wednesday!

What? A farmers market focused on locally grown products
Where? The corner of Burdick and Cedar Streets in downtown Kalamazoo (map)
When? EVERY Wednesday, 3-7pm, May-October

The 100-Mile Farmer's Market is bigger and better! It now has a total of ten vendors, up from eight when we started. Our two newest vendors are Dancing Goats Creamery from Byron Center, MI, and the Growing Matters Garden from Kalamazoo, MI. Here is Rosie's report on what you can expect from our magnificent farmers and producers at today's market:

• Victorian Bakery bakes tons of your favorite bread! Be sure to come early for their seedy sourdough and olive sourdough breads.
• Blue Dog Greens will have their marvelous certified organic salad mixes, arugula, and bunches of beets!
• Evelyn Thomas at Lindel Farms is digging new potatoes, picking onions, sweet cherries, maybe strawberries and delightful flower bouquets of snapdragons and calla lilies.
• Wild Way Out is bringing you certified organic produce from Al's Organic in Coldwater. Expect to see some snap peas, carrots, and black raspberries. Kate will be foraging day lily buds which are perfect for stir fry, a lot like peas in a pod!
• Growing Matters Garden is an educational garden for kids and will harvest cooking greens, salad mix with edible flowers, and fresh herbs.
• Russell Farms is excited to bring you treasures like sweet cherries, green onions, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, pickling cukes and dill! (hint hint: pickle time!)
• Agropraxis Farm brings juicy black raspberries, baby carrots, and grape leaves.
• Young Earth Farms is excited to bring you nice and spicy Louisiana-style andouille sausage, among a generous supply of bratwurst and Italian sausages perfect for grilling!
• CANCELLED -- Dancing Goats Creamery makes award-winning cheese every day! Dancing Goats won 2nd place in the 2008 American Cheese Society's "Farmstead Fresh Cheese" award. Interested in making cheese? Ask Barb about her cheese classes!

Our tokens have arrived! We are now accepting SNAP benefits (EBT/Bridge Card/Food Stamps) at the 100-Mile Market. Please help us pass the word so that those in need of access to clean, affordable, local foods can get them from our local farmers!

Please help us promote the 100-Mile Market by downloading a flyer and posting it somewhere, or by downloading some small handouts and giving them to all of your friends.

So, what's up with the name? You may recall that several years ago, People's, Fair Food Matters and others partnered to bring the authors of Plenty to town. This book is about the authors' experience while eating locally for 12 months in southwestern Canada. Their visit helped to inspire a movement here and in many other places to eat more locally. The original title of the book was The 100 Mile Diet (a WAY better title if you ask me!), alluding to their definition of locally grown. Our market is named with this definition in mind. Learn more at their web site.

Holiday Schedule

People's will be closed on Saturday, July 4 for Independence Day.

Do you get our email newsletter?

Whether rain nor snow, nor sleet, nor dark of night, People's puts out an email newsletter every week. Through this newsletter, we keep you up-to-date on new products, sales, People's events, community resources, and so much more. Download a copy of this week's eNews, and email Chris Dilley, PFC's manager, if you'd like to receive these notices weekly.

Summer Savings with IndieKids

People's is participating in Summer Savings with Indie Kids, a passport program. You will get 10% off any one-time purchase at participating local business. Get a stamp for every $15 or more purchase. Collect 8 stamps from at least 4 different businesses throughout the summer to get $5 good at any IndieKid business along with the chance to win some very cool raffle prizes. People's is proud to participate in this program which supports some of the coolest businesses throughout Kalamazoo! Props to Bookbug--A Bookstore for Kids for their leadership on this program!

Are you a student?

If you show your student ID on Sundays at People's, you'll qualify for a 5% discount! Please note that we cannot give more than 10% in total discounts.

Are you over 55 years old?

Seniors receive a 5% discount on Sundays at People's! Please note that we cannot give more than 10% in total discounts.

People's has reached an important goal:
over $150,000 in owner loan commitments!

After a six-week quiet campaign, the Owner Loan Committee is pleased to announce that we have exceeded our first phase goal of $150,000, and have raised $163,000 from 45 owner-lenders. We will need $85,000 in loans to be able to make our move. If you would like to learn more about this loan campaign, please download this brochure. If you are interested in lending, please contact Chris Dilley at 269.492.6468. Thanks!

Help Us Expand: Become an Owner Today!

We currently have 590 owners. We'd LOVE to have you become an owner next! Come on down and help us move forward with our plans to bring even more great food and fun to this community we all love so much, while supporting local farms and good health.

Monthly Specials

People's a Founding Member
of Buy Local Kalamazoo

People's is proud to support this local business initiative by being a founding member. Check out the web site of Buy Local Kalamazoo to learn more.

Welcome to the People's Food Co-op!

The People's Food Co-op is a full-service natural grocery that exists to culture mindfulness, a sense of place in our community, and a thriving local economy because we desire healthy, sustainable, environmentally conscious lives for all people.

We are located in downtown Kalamazoo on the corner of South Burdick and Cedar Streets, on the same block as the State Theatre and across Cedar from the Blue Dolphin. For a map please click here.