The Walker Square Farmers Market is tracing the blueprint of last year’s success while trying some new things to appeal to attendees of all ages and backgrounds.
A key component of that plan is to make the market, located at Walker Square Park, 1031 S. 9th St., more appealing to children and families.
Children can stroll through the park with a little shopping cart, receive a $2 coupon each Sunday to spend on goods, and participate in family and wellness activities like story time in English and Spanish and family yoga.
Expanding programming is a way to attract busy families to visit the farmers market, said Elizabeth Lezama, who started working part time as the manager there in April.
She grew up south of the Walker Square neighborhood near Kosciuszko Park and wants to help families in the area access fresh food and new experiences that were not available when she was growing up.
“I just really want to be able to be as inclusive or as welcoming as we can be to people, especially people that have felt like there’s not a lot of opportunities for them,” Lezama said.
The Walker Square Neighborhood Association and Friends of Walker Square Park reestablished the neighborhood’s tradition of a summer market in 2025. It runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays through Sept. 27.
‘Having a ball’
Jasmine Perez, a mother of two, lives in Riverwest but stopped at the market while passing through the area to pick up some fresh vegetables.
“He’s kind of having a ball, so I’m letting him enjoy it,” Perez said of her 3-year-old son, Eli, as he wheeled around a mini shopping cart.
Lezama wanted to add activities that incorporate skills that families might be thinking about, like children’s financial literacy, early reading comprehension and expanding their diets and nutrition.
In growing her micro urban farm, Flor Y Raíz MKE, Lezama said she noticed her daughter would be more excited about trying a new fruit or vegetable they had worked on in the garden together than if she just cooked a new food and told her daughter it tasted good. This approach inspired the shopping carts.
“If kids have a little bit more autonomy or they can pick something, they might try something new,” Lezama said.
The market also added some resources for families with neurodivergent children.
“I’ve heard parents say … ‘Well, we can’t really go because we have our kid and they won’t enjoy it, it’ll be too much for them or it’ll be overstimulating, so we can’t go,’” she said.
There are two sensory bags families can check out during the market that are equipped with fidget toys, an augmentative and alternative communication card, headphones for noise reduction and a book.
Community support
For the second year in a row, the Walker Square Farmers Market received an $8,000 Sprouts Grant from the Milwaukee Parks Foundation to support “música en el parque” every Sunday, according to Nicole Hertel Meirose, a co-leader of the Friends of Walker Square Park.
The Milwaukee Parks Foundation also supported the group in its application for the market’s second $25,000 grant from Bader Philanthropies to cover costs for a market manager and Hmong interpreter, permits, supplies, marketing, children’s activities and other projects and programming.
“Our goal continues to be bringing people together in Walker Square to build community,” Hertel Meirose said.
Cultural relevance
To further expand the market’s accessibility, Lezama also wants to add an American Sign Language story time and a Hmong storytelling or art activity.
Antonia Towns, a Walker Square resident, said she likes that the market is culturally relevant to her family.
“We’ve got horchata and agua fresca, and we can expose our kid to his culture and the music,” she said.
She said she and her husband, Peter, and their son, had fun participating in the bilingual story time and family yoga.
“Before COVID, we would come and it was really big, and then it went away for a long time, and so we’re trying to support to help it come back,” Peter Towns said.
The Townses said they would like to see more food vendors and the market continue to grow.
Vendors at the market already sell fresh fruits and vegetables, prepared food and drinks. The market also features community resources and activities like tai chi.
More about the market
Walker Square Farmers Market accepts FoodShare/SNAP, WIC, Milwaukee Market Match and senior voucher payments.
While the market is at capacity for vendors this year, its organizers are looking for feedback on its music, activities and products, as well as volunteers to support setup, takedown and marketing. Learn more on its website and social media.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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