39th Street Organic Only Market

Kansas City offers a lot of choices when choosing a farmers’ market to shop with, 14 to be exact. Whether you live close to Parkville or in Lee’s Summit there are plenty of markets to do your shopping with.

The last week of July I made some market visits in Kansas City and happened to drop by the 39th Street Market during the market’s annual Tomato Fest.

The 39th Street Market is an organic-only market that offers some wonderful varieties of heirloom tomatoes, plus other specialty produce.

The market runs from May through October every Wednesday from 5-8:00 PM on the crossroads of 39th and Genessee Streets (which is in downtown Kansas City).

Besides the produce, the market offers great local music and a kids section that includes coloring and learning about fruits and vegetables. The market is also a great “social” environment. I noticed when I arrived to the market that one customer was chatting about one of the vendors beets that she had purchased last week. She was explaining to another lady what to serve beets with at dinner.

The vendors at the 39th Street Market are highly interactive with their customers. They offer ways to cook their produce, what tomatoes are best to use for certain recipes and know the importance of engaging their customers.

One vendors I talked with told me that people come to their market because the vendors are sincerely interested in making the customer happy and want to build a relationship with them. “I want my customers to come back every week,” said one vendor. “I want them to stop at the market before they shop anywhere else.”

For more information about the 39th Street Market in Kansas City please contact Market Master Jessica Ratcliff at 816-507-8698.