• Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Your neighborhood. Your News.

newsMilwaukee NNSMilwaukee NNSSearch
Subscribe to NNS today!
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
    • Arts and Recreation
    • Community
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Health and Wellness
    • Housing
    • Public Safety
    • NNS Spotlight
    • Special Report
  • Posts From Community
    • Submit a Story
  • Community Voices
  • How To
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Local Video
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect
    • NNS WGLB 1560 Radio
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • About
    • Staff
    • Partners
    • News 414
    • The neighborhoods we cover
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Diederich College of Communication, Marquette University

You are here: Home / Home / Carousel / Prospects looking up for Walker Square Farmers’ Market

Prospects looking up for Walker Square Farmers’ Market

June 25, 2012 by Edgar Mendez Leave a Comment

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Customers check out the produce on opening day of the Walker Square Farmers’ Market (Photo by Sue Vliet)

Jason Cleereman, an immigration lawyer, moved to the Walker Square neighborhood in 2005, saw the park down the block and thought “what a wonderful place to have a farmer’s market.”

And, despite many ups and downs, the Walker Square Farmers’ Market, 1031 S. 9th St. in Walker Square Park, has celebrated the grand opening of its second season, offering fresh, inexpensive and healthy fruits and vegetables for neighborhood residents.

The market originally opened in 2008, though Cleereman admits it was a complete flop.

“The farmers were afraid to get out of their car; they’d come by the park and keep on driving,” Cleereman said.

It lasted only two months.

Cleereman, who’s also president of the Walker Square Neighborhood Association, was left pondering whether the neighborhood actually wanted a farmers’ market.

The area went without a market for a few years, but in 2010, one of the few farmers who had sold his produce at the market informed Cleereman that the nearby Mitchell Street Farmers’ Market, run by Growing Power, was closing while a loft was built on the lot where it stood.

Cleereman and his partner, Chava Lee, a professor at Springfield College, approached Growing Power representatives and made a deal to bring the farmers from the Mitchell Street market to Walker Square Park to sell their produce.

The market opened in May 2011.

Sales were slow at the beginning but had picked up enough by late August to convince Cleereman and Lee that the market could thrive in the neighborhood and that the residents needed it.

After a dispute with Growing Power, Cleereman, Lee, other organizers and most of the farmers, nearly all of whom are Hmong, cut ties with the organization and ran the market on their own.

Most of the farmers from last year have returned, and the market appears to have gained the momentum that eluded it during its original run.

Open every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the market offers residents everything from small russet potatoes, peas, onions and many other fruits and vegetables that are in season and grown locally.

Sunday’s grand opening ceremony featured live music, smiles, an abundance of healthy food and shoppers.

Vendors at the market, which sits across the street from UCC, accept WIC checks.

The market, situated in a one-square-block park, sits right where Cleereman envisioned it seven years and many sleepless nights ago.

Through it all, Cleereman is glad that the group’s persistence has resulted in healthier and more affordable food for residents of Walker Square, a neighborhood he’s spent countless hours advocating for.

“It’s easy to get down on yourself when things start falling apart, but I think this market is essential to reviving this community.”

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin

Filed Under: Carousel, Community, Health and Wellness, Home, Neighborhoods, News, South, Walker Square

Edgar Mendez

About Edgar Mendez

Facebook |  Twitter | More stories from Edgar

Edgar is a senior staff reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Mendez is a proud graduate of UW-Milwaukee, where he double majored in Journalism and Sociology, and of Marquette University, where he earned a master’s degree in Communication. As an accomplished journalist, Edgar’s awards include a 2018 Regional Edward R. Murrow award, several press club awards and a Society of Professional Journalists’ regional award for columns dealing with issues such as poverty, homelessness and racism.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement
Advertisement

How To …

How to avoid stimulus check scams

A new round of stimulus checks will likely also bring out a new round of scams. Here’s what to watch out for.

More "How To" articles

Advertisement

Recommended Reading

A Vaccine Reality Check

The Atlantic

UWM study on the state of Black Milwaukee describes the city as ‘the epitome of a 21st century racial regime’

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Videos Show How Federal Officers Escalated Violence in Portland

The New York Times

These mayors want to fight Covid-19 and the recession with one big idea: A guaranteed income

Vox

The World John Lewis Helped Create

The Atlantic

News

  • Arts and Recreation
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Health and Wellness
  • Housing
  • Public Safety
  • NNS Spotlight
  • Special Reports
  • Multimedia
    • NNS Videos
    • Photos
    • NNS on Lake Effect Radio

Engage with us

  • Posts from Community
  • Community Voices
  • Submit a Story

About NNS

  • Staff
  • Partners
  • News414
  • The neighborhoods we cover
  • Internship opportunities
  • Careers
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS feed

Communities

Contact

mailing address
Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Diederich College of Communication
Marquette University
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Johnston Hall 430
Milwaukee, WI 53233

email
info@milwaukeenns.org

phone & fax
PHONE: 414.604.6397 FAX: 414.288.6494

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service is a project of Diederich College of Communication and Marquette University.
© 2020 Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service. Terms of use.
1131 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee WI 53233 • info@milwaukeenns.org

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in