Haymarket Farmers Market wraps up year

Bad weather didn't stop the Haymarket Farmers Market from running for the final time this year. Vendors and consumers from across the state braved the snow Saturday morning, finishing the season strong.

More than 120 farmers and artisans from around the region spent their summer Saturdays in Lincoln, selling fresh produce, flowers, homemade food and jewelry.

The business was surprisingly good this summer for a lot of the vendors, despite the tough economic times.

Ray Chlupacek of Bruno, Neb., a fifth-generation vendor of Chlupacek's Old Fashioned Smoke House, said this had been one of the best years he's had in terms of sales, despite his concern and skepticism at the beginning of summer.

"Maybe people want to start buying more homemade food than eating out in this tough economy," Chlupacek said.

Norma Rohda, a vendor at a homegrown produce stall, said sales keep getting better every year, and this year he saw the same trend. He also said this had been his best year ever.

Rohda said the increased sales could be because of a spreading awareness among consumers about how important it is to buy locally.

"People want to protect their environment and start eating healthy today. Buying locally prevents the high cost of shipping produce from other places such as California," Rohda said.

The lack of additional pesticides is also a draw for some customers, Rohda said.

"Plus, people don't want to eat vegetables that have been sprayed too much (by) insecticides. Our vegetables are fresh because we grow a lot of them in the spring," he said.

Sheri Hurlbut, a weekly customer at the farmers market for years, said she is willing to pay extra for good food because she sees the benefits of eating healthy and buying locally.

"I hardly go to the grocery store," she said.

Along with his produce sales being up, Rohda said his flower sales have increased as well. Rohda said the bad economy usually only hurts big purchases such as cars and houses but not smaller ones. .

"People like to buy small things to make them feel better, especially when they are staying at home more," Rohda said.

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