Local Farmer Gets a Sales Boost from SNAP-Ed
“Appleknockers Farm is a new vendor at the Kalkaska Farmers Market as of summer 2025. They are a small, family ran farm with a wide variety of produce. As new vendors, Appleknockers are still trying to understand the clientele of the market, what they are interested in purchasing and how much produce to bring each week.
SNAP-Ed’s Kalkaska Community Nutrition Instructor, Lanae Bump, is working with the Kalkaska Farmers Market to provide nutrition and food preparation courses during the market to showcase seasonal produce, specifically items that may be daunting to cook for the general population. The first week of programming for the summer 2025 season highlighted asparagus and radishes as many of the vendors would be bringing in those items. Appleknockers Farms was not expecting a program at the market that would show market goers how to use several of the produce items that they were supplying.
Shortly after the class wrapped-up, Carrie from Appleknockers Farm popped her head into the demo space to share the coolest story. Carrie said that their booth sold out of both radishes and asparagus within minutes of the program concluding. Several participants from class had gone to her booth with their Quinoa and Asparagus Salad recipe card from class to gather ingredients to make the recipe at home. Carrie had no idea if radishes would sell at all and she ended up not taking any home.
Programs like these help farmers be successful at the market by giving shoppers an idea of how they could fit new and exciting produce items into their daily lives. It is important for shoppers to try produce prepared well to give it a fair chance. With a little food preparation instruction, storage tips, recipes and a taste test, shoppers are ready increase their fruit and vegetable.“