Kootenai County Farmers’ Market: A Convergence of Food and Community

In North Idaho, we are deeply dependent upon the producers, growers, and crafters who live and work alongside us. On an otherwise sleepy summer Saturday morning, the corner of Prairie Avenue and Highway 95 in Hayden is bustling with farmers, craftsmen, and other local producers preparing their booths for a busy day of buying and selling at the Kootenai County Farmers Market (KCFM). Arriving a few minutes early, I browse the rows of white pop-up canopies and maroon-painted wooden stalls. One of the market members, sporting a Western-style hat and a bushy white goatee, strikes a rather large triangle signaling the market’s opening.

With shelves full of leafy greens, vibrant heirloom tomatoes, raw milk and cheese, and foraged mushrooms, KCFM allows shoppers to bypass the industrial grocery circus and facilitates face-to-face connections among farmers and consumers.

As a North Idaho resident, I have been shopping and socializing at the KCFM for the past six years, working and volunteering at a few booths along the way. Growing up in Texas, I have memories of my mom dragging us out of bed on the occasional Saturday morning to go to the downtown outdoor market to buy peaches, blackberries and fresh heavy cream in a jar from a stubble-faced man in overalls. It was just as thrilling then as it is now.

KCFM began in 1986 with a mission to foster local agriculture, small enterprise and handcrafted North Idaho products. The nonprofit’s initial focus was on Kootenai County farmers and growers (70 percent of membership), but over the years, with the addition of craft vendors (30 percent) and a food court, it has developed into more of a community center. “It has kind of become a gathering place for people,” said Ellen Scriven, president of the board and co-owner of Killarney Organic Farm. “It’s more than just coming to pick up your produce. It’s more of a rich experience, being able to interact, not just with vendors, but also with other customers and with artisans.”

To fulfill its objectives and purpose, a farmers market must define the term “local,” communicate their mission to the public, and operate in a manner that works closely with their community while supporting the farmers, growers and producers. The KCFM board and members recently voted to redefine themselves as a market solely for “Kootenai County local growers,” with farmers from outside the county accepted upon review and approval from the board and its members. “We are always having to look at so many different applications from people who want to sell at the market,” said Scriven. “We want to offer as much as we can and give preference to local growers.”

With strong roots in the community and an emphasis on the farm-to-table relationship, KCFM has grown and thrived. “One thing we did in the last couple years that probably has opened the market to a broader sector of the population is to offer the EBT (electronic benefits transfer) option,” Scriven mentioned. “But also, people realize the health and environmental reasons of shopping at the market. There’s healthy food here!” 

Both KCFM market locations, Hayden on Saturdays and downtown Coeur d’Alene on Wednesdays, offer a broad selection of local goods. “We have an ever-changing array of local products,” said Barbara Arnold, board member and market vendor, “from cheese to chairs, artisan bread to pickles. There is also music, children’s activities, a food court, a community table, a master gardeners’ booth and special events."