Hub City Farmer's Market

Every Saturday from 8 am- 12 pm the Hub City Farmer's Market is bustling with several vendors and shoppers looking for the freshest vegetables, breads, tamales, etc.  I rarely make it to the market because I work many Saturdays and its all the way across town.  Plus, if you want the good pickin's, you need to get there first thing in the morning.  When I am not working on Saturdays, I don't like to rush out of the house early in the morning.  I planned to go this Saturday though with by baby nephew, Jaxson, in tow.  We met a friend at the market closer to 11- which was really too late to get any of the vegetables I wanted.  The good thing is that everyone's signs still said what they had sold that day (even if sold out) which is helpful for my next trip in a couple of weekends.  


There were several booths dedicated to just vegetables.  The largest one being the Gotreaux Family Farm.  This family is really unique.  They have a huge farm, I actually toured it once, and not only practice organic farming but practice nutrient dense farming.  This may be confusing to some but there is a difference.  Organic farming is really about what you don't add to your veggies or soil (chemicals, pesticides, etc.).  Nutrient dense farming is that plus adding organic matter that increases the nutrients in the vegetable.  There were of course other booths selling vegetables but unfortunately for me, all that was left were beets and swiss chard which I was not looking to purchase today.

Click here to go to the  Hub City Farmer's Market website

One of the vendors was a younger guy selling plants that he grew from seeds in his greenhouse in Lafayette.  He had a great selection of herbs and vegetables and other houseplants.  I was in the market for lavender and he had several beautiful plants for me to choose from.  My friend purchased a pineapple sage plant along with a hanging basket of "culinary herbs".  


We moved down to a booth that sells roasted coffee.  I was intrigued, being that I LOVE coffee.  We asked her about where she got the coffee from and how she roasted it at her home in Lafayette.  The coffee I purchased is from Nigeria and the growers parents actually live here and are friends with the vendor.  Thus, she simply buys the "green" beans directly from the grower and then she roast them upon arrival.  At the market, she only sells what she has roasted that week.  


There were other booths that were selling items from beautiful homemade cypress furniture to baby bibs and even painted decorative flamingos for your garden.  I didn't recall seeing these booths the last time I went so I inquired.  It turns out that every third Saturday of the month craft vendors set up shop along with the vegetable growers and bakers.  


The market is a great place to start becoming a Locavore even in small ways.  Its a great feeling to talk to the farmer or person who produced the product you are purchasing because you know you are not just getting quality food but supporting that family.  The market is also a great place to get advice!  The vendor who hand raised seedling plants (whom I purchased my lavender from) was more than happy to give me advice AND tell me some of his failures so that I didn't attempt them.  Who knows, maybe one day I'll have a booth there, assuming I have more successes than failures in the gardening department. 

So all you need to do now is GO to the market!

When: The market takes place EVERY Saturday, year round from 8-12
Where: The Oil Center, 427 Heyman Street 
Who: Anyone can attend, it is a great family atmosphere with many of the vendors children there helping out