Every student has memories from time spent in health class.  This was a class where everyone learned about the human body and how to care for it.  One of the lessons students learn is the importance of a balanced diet, which includes fresh produce.  Sadly, there are people that don’t see the value in taking time to make healthy purchases at the grocery store. An exciting addition to an individual’s life is eating wholesome foods and many people don’t realize that there are ways to achieve this healthy lifestyle.  The local Cannon Falls Farmers’ Market is a place where locals come to congregate and enjoy each other’s company. Here, farmers and small businesses are selling products that are homemade and homegrown, and have heart warming stories behind them.  

At the market, customers can come and appreciate the effort and craftsmanship that make the market a vibrant and unique place to buy goods.   One vendor, Tim Warner, sells cinnamon toasted almonds from his stand “Nutz 4 You”.  He has a charming story as to where his enjoyable life of selling nutty goodness began “My wife tried those almonds and she was absolutely obsessed with them, so I bought myself a machine.”  After he bought a nut roaster, his business emerged.  Tim is very passionate about his business and the people he meets.  He told the tale about one rainy sales day where he was talking to a customer when suddenly another woman came to the stand and ordered almonds.  “I kindly gave them to her and she suddenly said to me ‘I just had my final chemotherapy treatment’, so I just shoot up and give her a big ol’ hug.”  When asked why the woman told him that, he just responded with, “I don’t know, people just tell me things.”  Tim’s life selling almonds just shows how people who don’t even know each other can bond so quickly and become a part of each other’s communities.  

The Cannon Falls Farmer’s Market has several other businesses such as “Lola’s Lemonade”, run by Lola Winchell.  Meanwhile, the “Cannon Belle Cheese Company” is a facility that currently operates in Farmington, but are looking to transfer. The woman working the stand, Jackie, summed it all up saying, “We are currently in Farmington, for the time being, but we are eagerly awaiting for the completion of a plant in the Cannon Falls area.” Average grocery stores don’t tell the whole story behind the products they are selling, while vendors at the farmer’s market prove that their products are worth buying.

People who sell fresh produce or beautiful works of art are always eager to tell their stories about their small business.  The market is a wonderful place for people to come together and be a community.  Sellers are more than happy to talk to their customers and no one leaves disappointed.