Fresh peaches are a popular item this month at the Frisco Farmers Market. Photo: Tyra Damm

By Tyra Damm

There aren’t many farms around Frisco, but that doesn’t get in the way of Frisco residents accessing farm-fresh produce, dairy products and meat.

The Frisco Farmers Market, now in its fourth year, sets up shop at Frisco Square each Saturday morning from May until October. Shoppers will find everything needed to pull together seasonal meals (every food group is represented) plus discover extras, like candles, handmade jewelry and children’s clothes.

“First and foremost, we’re a farmers market,” says Scott Merner, manager of the market and a Frisco Noon Lions Club member. (The Lions Club runs the market and earmarks proceeds to its eye health charity.)

The idea is to help area residents “buy local, buy fresh – and organic if we can find it,” Merner says.

Folks line up to buy fresh peaches, tomatoes, corn, squash, berries and cucumber. Photo: Tyra Damm

Vendors set up tables and canopies on a flat concrete slab tucked between shops at the Square and City Hall. Shoppers have plenty of free parking around the market, which opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 1 p.m. – or when vendors run out of merchandise.

It certainly pays to show up early – to beat the heat and to buy popular goods while they’re available.

David Dooley, a Frisco resident who tends his farmland in Whitton (in Van Zandt County, not far from Canton), had run out of his tomatoes by 9:30 a.m. on an early June Saturday. He did have a few cucumbers and green beans left for later visitors.

“I have a regular following for my tomatoes,” he said, “because they’re so good.”

He uses no pesticides and follows organic methods, though he’s not a certified organic grower.

Dooley, a retired dairy processor, calls himself a hobbyist gardener.
“I believe in selling what you grow,” he said, adding that he occasionally sells produce grown by folks he knows well enough to vouch for their products.

Next to Dooley, who sells under the name Double D Farm, is Terry Pillard, owner of Truth Hill Farm in Farmersville.

Terry Pillard of Truth Hill Farm works with a customer at the Frisco Farmers Market. Photo: Tyra Damm

Pillard sells chicken, beef, lamb and pork products each week, and says that the Frisco market is his best market. (You can also find his products at markets in Garland, Addison and Dallas.)

He calls his method “beyond organic.”

Pillard, who has been influenced by the writings and works of revolutionary farmers Joel Salatin and Allan Nation, says there are no herbicides or pesticides used at any point in his process of raising animals. His bacon and sausage contain no nitrates, nitrites or MSG.
And his animals aren’t just grass fed, they’re grass finished, meaning that the animals eat no grains at all during their life cycle.

With that, diners get more omega-3 fats, vitamin E, conjugated linoleic acid (one of the “good” fats) and beta-carotene, Pillard said.
Just down the row from Pillard, shoppers will find Guy and Liz Money, who sell fresh, never pasteurized honey collected from beehives in Collin and Grayson counties.

The Moneys have been selling at the Frisco market since its first-ever Saturday in 2007.

“A lot of our customers rely on us for allergy protection,” Mr. Money says, explaining that his honey contains local grass, tree and wildflower pollen that helps build immunity in those who eat it.

“Customers are looking for benefits to their health,” he said, “and honey’s vitamins are balanced by Mother Nature.”

The Moneys say that they don’t use pesticides on their hives in an effort to remove the chemicals from the food chain.

Katharine Sellers of Frisco sits down after shopping to listen to Dr. O's Medicine Show. Photo: Tyra Damm

Frisco resident Katharine Sellers says she shopped the market almost every open Saturday for the past two years. Last Saturday she stocked up on fruits, vegetables, jelly and cookies.

She pulled a small, slightly dirty onion from a bag.

“You can’t get this in the grocery store,” Sellers said. “This is right out of the field.”

She’s a big fan of the market’s tomato options, too. “These tomatoes taste like fruit rather than a vegetable.”

Sellers also enjoys the market’s live entertainment and was happy that it was the right day to catch Dr. O’s Medicine Show, a five-man band that plays American roots music.

The live music lends atmosphere to the market and heightens the sense of community already fostered by friendly vendors, families with children, folks walking leashed dogs, lively conversation at every booth – and fresh, seasonal food.

Frisco Farmers Market
www.friscofarmersmarket.org
8 a.m. until 1 p.m. (or sell out)
Every Saturday until Oct. 23
6048 Frisco Square Blvd. (southeast of the Dallas North Tollway and Main Street)