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Quick Take:
Now in its 10th year, the market operates every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Scobert Gardens Park in Eugene's Whiteaker neighborhood. The market strives to improve local food access, with as many as 40 vendors selling everything from farm produce to handmade crafts.
Every Sunday, the quiet residential streets of Eugene’s Whiteaker neighborhood come alive with vendors selling goods of all sorts: crocheted stuffed animals, locally distilled rum, clothing — and even carnivorous plants. The Whiteaker Community Market sets up alongside Scobert Gardens Park, making it an easy place for parents to shop while children play.
The Whiteaker Community Market was started about 10 years ago as a collaboration to help support the community and improve local food access. What began with a focus on farms and produce evolved into a market that also showcases local artisans and crafters.
Gen Schaack is a co-owner of the market and also serves as treasurer of the board, overseeing the transition from the market’s private ownership to a nonprofit. Schaack said the market has carved out a unique niche in Eugene’s market scene, offering a smaller, less crowded version of the Lane County Farmers Market. With up to 40 vendors on any given Sunday and a rotating pool of about 120 local producers and artisans, the market offers an alternative to the bustling downtown Eugene Saturday Market, one that is accessible to people in the neighborhood and beyond.
The market will celebrate its 10th season during National Farmers Market Week, Aug. 3-9, with a special event on Aug. 3, featuring live music, a quick pickling demo and family activities. Jordana Miller, the market’s financial manager, is working on arranging activities such as a Dolly Parton Imagination Library book reading and a folk dancing group.
The market is a convenient and friendly place for entrepreneurs who are selling crafts or food products to set up shop.
“The vendors are all super helpful and nice with each other,” said Kaylee Clarke, owner of Top Knotch Crochet. “You see a lot of the same repeat kids and families.”
On July 19, Springfield resident Rachel Rainwater was shopping at the market with her friend Leanne Barske. Rainwater said they both had talked about the Whiteaker Community Market earlier in the day.
“We were just saying how it’s nice to have another option aside from the Saturday Market and the Farmers Market downtown, because it can be crowded there,” Rainwater said.
Nutrition programs drive success
The market’s success is intertwined with nutrition incentive programs that make fresh, local food accessible to families who might otherwise struggle to afford it. Through grant funding partnerships with organizations such as the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition and Trillium Community Health Plan, the market offers a program called Little Lettuce, which offers $5 tokens for fresh fruits and vegetables for children 12 and under. Bucca Bucca Bucks provides $10 toward lean proteins including eggs, chicken and rabbit. Double Up Food Bucks matches SNAP purchases up to $20, effectively doubling families’ buying power for fresh produce.
The market operates as part of a network of seven Lane County markets that accept Double Up Food Bucks, creating a countywide system that supports both farmers and food access. At the close of the Whiteaker Community Market each week, the market purchases any unsold items at 70% of retail price. The food goes to local pantries, and helps reduce the financial risk to vendors.
Miller estimates that sometimes more than 50% of vendor sales come from these incentive programs. And she hears from customers about how the consumer programs have impacted their lives.
“They tell me, ‘I get fresh food, I get it local, hyper direct. I know that it’s safe. I know where it came from. And I have access to the highest quality foods for my kids,’” she said.
For new vendors, the market offers rental equipment, including canopies and tables, and charges flat fees rather than taking percentages of sales. The market also provides 50% discounts on booth fees for BIPOC vendors. And it provides online resources for vendors starting out, to answer questions about important business topics such as insurance and business licensing.
Schaack said the market prides itself on being a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. For those interested in vending, another way the market keeps itself accessible is accepting new vendors year-round — no application deadlines or lengthy wait times.
“It can be really hard as a teeny, tiny farmer to compete at Lane County Farmers Market,” Schaack said. “And it can also take a long time to be accepted into it. So we want to be a little bit more accessible on the vendor side, for people who are starting out.”
Clarke appreciated this approach when she first got started selling at Whiteaker Community Market about a year ago.
“They’ve made the process so beginner friendly for vending,” she said. “Last year, before I knew if I was going to do it for sure, [I could] rent a tent, weights, and all this stuff, that’s kind of an intimidating investment when you want to do something like this.”
Tanner Johansen, a farmer and owner of A Root’s Cause farm in Junction City, is in his fourth year selling at the market. The Whiteaker market has become his favorite among several markets he attends. Johansen, who sells produce from his 1.5 acre farm — including vegetables, strawberries, chickens and ducks — praised the market’s “energy, atmosphere and actual community mindedness.”
Johansen said farming is what he feels called to do with his life, even if it isn’t quite panning out financially yet.
“Just knowing that I’m able to provide and grow food for people is enriching,” he said. “Obviously money is important to keep operations going, but I fill up on the people who come along and say, ‘Hey, thank you.’”
Building community beyond commerce
The Whiteaker neighborhood has sometimes struggled with vandalism and sanitation near Scobert Gardens Park where the market takes place. And some of the neighbors don’t appreciate that the market brings cars and traffic to their quiet street. But Schaack believes that by “activating the space” weekly with positive community energy, the market helps address some of those challenges while providing resources beyond food.
The market’s information booth stocks water, snacks and even free COVID tests for community members. During heat advisories, when the market might cancel for safety reasons, organizers still set up cooling stations with water and granola bars.
“Folks in the neighborhood that come to the market for resources still need those resources,” Schaack said.
Want to go?
Whiteaker Community Market
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, from May to Mid-October
Where: Scobert Gardens Park, near Fourth Avenue and Blair Boulevard
More: https://www.whiteakercommunitymarket.com
