“We do a little bit of a lot of stuff,” Kevin Helfrick says, describing his farm, Hell or High Water. Their 7-acre farm produces vegetables, dahlias, pastured chicken and duck eggs, and pastured meat chickens. Kevin and his family run the farm together. He does the majority of the planting, harvesting, and cultivation, while his wife, Desirée supports the farm through crop planning, plant propagation, and CSA coordination.

It’s the season of giving thanks, and it wouldn’t be a proper Thanksgiving if we didn’t take a moment to give a big “Thank You” to all of our sponsors this year! We are so grateful for all of their support. Our markets rely on support from our community, and we are so lucky to have so many amazing people and organizations working behind the scenes to keep our markets running.

Brandon Rill has brassicas in his blood. Well, not literally, but his father was one of the first farmers to successfully grow brassicas like cabbage and cauliflower in Washington back in the 1980s. Brandon uses the knowledge (and some of the tools) that he gained from working on his father’s farm to run his own farm with his wife, Yamel Bustamante, called Rill-Bustamante Farms.

We are so excited to welcome Water Tank Bakery to the University District Farmers Market starting November 6! Water Tank is an artisan bakery that specializes in naturally leavened bread, made the slow way. One loaf can take 13 hours to make, but it’s the time and care that goes into each loaf that makes them so good.

At a long wooden counter up against a brick wall, you take a sip of your wine before turning back to the seared foie gras in front of you. The atmosphere is loud and fun, and you hear the chef from the kitchen talking to another diner sitting next to you at the table. No, you’re not in Paris or New York. You’re in Off Alley, Evan Leichtling & Meghna Prakash’s restaurant in Columbia City!

Chef Dan grew up in Everett and attended Western Washington University to get a degree in Business Management, before he moved to San Francisco to attend California Culinary Academy. Following his education, he worked in Michelin-star restaurants before he moved to Rome for a year. Dan eventually returned to his roots and worked as the Executive Chef at Rider; a restaurant located in Hotel Theodore in Downtown Seattle.

In between the lunch and dinner rushes, Ben Curran, Co-owner of Watershed Pub & Kitchen grabs a slice of pizza and sprinkles on extra parmesan. “You’ve got to sneak in lunch whenever you can,” he explains. The restaurant is no longer crowded, but a few guests sit at the bar or finish up the last of their lunches under the covered dining area outside, under twinkly lanterns.

In honor of Seattle Restaurant Week, we want to highlight a few chefs and restaurants who support our markets and work with our vendors. First up is Frankie & Jo’s. Their plant-based ice cream aims to change the way you think about ice cream. One of their current seasonal flavors, Apple Orchard, is made with apples from Collins Family Orchard, who have been with NFM since 2006. 

Back in 2013, before the word “coronavirus” really meant anything to anyone, a different coronavirus from the one we know today was spreading through the pigs across the country, starting in the Midwest and making its way to Washington. This virus was spreading at the same time that Bob Blade was hoping to start his locally-sourced meat-curing business, Salt Blade.

If you’ve seen Youssef Hamzaoui selling his specialty hummus at a farmers market, you’ve seen how proud he is of his hard work and of his craft. He knows that his hummus is the best you’ll ever try, and he’s not afraid of a challenge. His company, The Mediterranean, is named after his home of Tunisia. From the name itself to the hummus that he makes, the company represents Youssef and his family. Youssef, his father, and his wife make the hummus themselves using a secret family recipe. 

For the autumn moon festival last week, Estela Martinez and her small team at Askatu Bakery spent hours working on mooncakes, making the filling and shells from scratch, putting them together, and pulling them from the oven every 2 minutes to brush the cakes with molasses water. These mooncakes were special because, like everything else that Estela makes, they were free from the top nine allergens; wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, peanuts, fish and shellfish, and sesame.

When Sophia Xiao started Cute Dumplings LLC in April of 2021, she had no idea how much her small business would grow in just five short months. She currently sells at four Washington farmers markets, including Capitol Hill Farmers Market every Sunday from 11am – 3pm, and is getting ready to open a restaurant in the Pangborn airport.

The Edlers are third-generation farmers and their farm is on Sean’s grandfather’s farmland. Although they didn’t start their farm until last year, Sean has always worked in agriculture in some capacity. As a boy, he spent his summers working on his uncle’s and grandfather’s farms, and it was always a dream of his to have his own farm. 

Stella Maris farm is built on the values of family and culture. Collin and Rebecca Medeiros started to get into farming after growing up in Seattle because they wanted to feel more connected to the land that they are on. They moved to Vashon Island and started raising animals in 2005, and have since grown into a successful goat cheese and pork farm.

Something that makes farmers markets so exciting is the chance to find some new fruits and vegetables that you may have never seen before. Steven Hsieh and Elizabeth Whitman of Tian Tian Farm are excited to be able to share vegetables that may be new to some, and give a taste of home to others.

If you want a taste of history, take a bite of the Filomena cheese from Fantello Farmstead Creamery in Enumclaw. The cheese is named after owner Paul Fantello’s grandmother, Filomena, who started the dairy farm back in 1918 and worked on it until she eventually retired at 80 years old. Paul and his wife, Patty, resurrected Filomena’s dairy farm back in 2015, using many of the same farm-to-table methods that his grandmother did back in the day.

“It is impossible for me to reflect back upon my many years working for NFM and not also think of Naomi Kakiuchi, “ reminisces Karen Kerschner, a former Market Manager at the Neighborhood Farmers Markets. “Her smile, grace, bright humor, and positive energy were often a welcoming haven for me amidst the hustle and bustle of each market day.” Karen describes Naomi’s wholehearted desire to share her own joy of cooking with the community while supporting small farmers.

Mother knows best. Or at least Patrick Brown’s mother did when she pushed him to start his own microgreen farm.

Farmer Pat wasn’t always a farmer. He started his career in restaurant management and ran several high-volume, up-scale, casual restaurants before making the decision to switch to microgreens.

One of the most beautiful things about sustainable farming is the symbiotic relationship between farmer, land, and animals. Located in the foothills of Mt. Rainier on Nisqually land, Pink Moon Farm celebrates and cultivates this relationship with their unique growing practices. As a 22-acre farm for vegetable row crops, meat, and eggs, Pink Moon Farm utilizes everything from the land to the sheep to their fullest potential.

Our farmers markets are application-based, and there is often a lot to learn about the history and mission of each vendor from their submissions. In their application, farmers Michele and Manny kept it simple, "Canales Produce has been growing certified organically since 1994. We believe in taking care of the land and growing healthy food for everyone."