By CJ Vetter
DRIPPING SPRINGS - Where can you find locally grown mushrooms, cheese made from Water Buffalo milk, grow-it-yourself mushroom kits and Brazilian cheese bread in one place? If your answer was the Dripping Springs Farmers Market, you’d be right!
Located at the Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead near Founders Memorial Park, or colloquially known as the ‘Pound House’, the Dripping Springs Farmers Market is your one-stop spot for all your locally sourced food and produce every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon. From homemade pies to freshly cooked kettle corn, the market offers a little something for everyone. Chriseano Prado, owner of Tapio Foods, produces authentic Brazilian foods such as cassava bread.
“We try to introduce more Brazilian food to the American cultures,” said Prado. “Cavassa is so sustainable, it doesn’t have gluten and it’s very versatile. And in time, we want to start adding other Brazilian food here.”
Originally starting off in 2009, the farmers market has been acting as both a way to pick up home-grown products and interact with the community. The market was voted as the best farmers market in not only Texas, but the entire southeast four times in the last five years by the American Farmland Trust. Francis Nash, owner of Fran’s Pies, has been going to the market for years.
“We’ve been doing this market for four years and we’ve moved with them from their old location,” Nash said. “We had to switch out the times we were open during the summer due to just the intense heat.”
As part of an effort to expand the space available, the farmers market moved from their previous location to Founders Memorial Park, which provided them with an extended back area in addition to the front. Located right next to the Dripping Springs public swimming pool, it offers rustic scenery and a connection to the history of the city. It also provides plenty of shaded area to relax and listen to live music, which was provided this week by local musician Bob Slaughter.
“We usually sell out at this market. It’s a beautiful setting with the trees and the tables,” said Jack Holt, owner of Jinx Bread. “Families come here and just kind of hang out the entire market.”
Although, there are challenges to those local businesses and farmers that attend the market. The historic heat waves currently being experienced by Texas have made some produce hard to grow, or even impossible to find. Coupled with the extreme droughts, fresh vegetables and fruit have been harder to come by. But through a curated list of attendees, the market still brings high-quality goods and products to those who attend. Places such as the Golden Pineapple also offer delicious food ready to eat.
“We’re interested in finding the best possible offerings that people can bring. Whether it is mushrooms or fresh grown vegetables, we’re gonna get you it locally,” said Charlie Reed, Farmers Market Manager. “We’re going to get diverse offerings because that’s the community we’re in.”
As summer comes to an end, the market will continue operation every Wednesday, but will switch from its current 9 a.m. to noon hours and instead change to 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
