Garlic, the well-loved staple of every kitchen, graces countertops all over the world. For the North Union Farmers Market (NUFM), the pantry staple funds food access to community members all over Northeast Ohio. NUFM’s annual Cleveland Garlic Festival, taking place this year on Aug. 29 and 30 at the historic Shaker Square, serves as the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year with plenty of garlic-themed foods for people of all ages—garlic bread, garlic steak and even garlic ice cream (thanks to campus favorite Mitchell’s ice cream).
Beyond the fun, festival sponsors work to bring local fresh produce to the community weekly across eight (soon to be nine) locations. Approximately 1.3 million Ohioans living in 67 Ohio counties struggle with food access, as these counties all have at least one food desert. This means that access to fresh and nutritious food is made even more difficult. Simply having a source of fresh produce that is accessible to the community is important.
For the people of downtown Cleveland, Heinen’s grocery store was this resource for 11 years. “It was a really big deal for Cleveland,” NUFM Director of Market Operations Kawai Bitto remarked. “It meant that there was a grocery store in the heart of downtown.” However, on July 31, Heinen’s closed and a lifeline was stripped from the local community. NUFM has now partnered with the City of Cleveland to build back this lifeline and create the ninth farmers market, which will have a six-week pilot beginning Sept. 1.
“We’re not there every day of the week, but we do provide a weekly opportunity for people who need access to [fresh produce] most,” said Bitto. Bitto joined the organization as a volunteer in 2018, serving a variety of roles over the past eight years. She now oversees all established farmers markets, connects vendors and makes sure markets run smoothly.
So continues the work to connect the community to local farmers and businesses, with each one individually verified by NUFM’s team of volunteers. “We’ve asked for their seed orders or, if it’s meat, we’ve gone and seen their cattle, or their chickens or their turkeys, and we have certified that what they are bringing to market is coming from their farm,” explained Bitto. This same process applies to small businesses and artists, creating an incubator for local entrepreneurs. Bitto emphasized that the organization makes sure to “[onboard] consciously, and that takes more time than it would to just kind of get someone’s phone number and say, ‘Sure, just come and visit, come and set up your tent.’ …But we feel that it’s important.” This is what makes NUFM a certified producer-only market.
One of these vendors is Silver Maple Farm, which has been growing garlic for 15 years. This will be the farm’s third year as a vendor for NUFM. Doug Pohly of Silver Maple Farm expressed his excitement to return, and explained that “there is an equal focus on the vetted vendor group” and that his farm takes “great pride in being considered among that group.” It is these relationships built with vendors that helps sustain all eight current farmers markets, and many vendors attend more than one farmers market throughout the week.
Beyond location, food accessibility also means providing the community with means to buy and sell produce. NUFM works to keep stall prices low and participates in nutrition assistance programs to make the produce more affordable. Farmers markets accept benefits from SNAP and EBT programs, and match up to $25 of SNAP dollars spent to be used for fresh produce. They also provide access to those supported by the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program, as well as dedicated food access programs for local seniors and families.
To provide these benefits in support of the local community and fund operations, NUFM hosts its 16th annual Cleveland Garlic Festival, a two day affair of live music, chef cookouts and—of course—plenty of garlic. It takes place every year at the ever-historical Shaker Square, NUFM’s flagship location, hosting 8,000-12,000 people and a variety of vendors over the weekend.
As a universally acclaimed staple (and a universally recognized ingredient, not just from its strong aroma), garlic is the perfect whimsical food. The festival is advertised as “the stinkiest weekend of the year.” “We do a lot of advertising with breath mints …I think it drives well. People really enjoy it. It’s kind of a weird one, and we … lean into it,” said Bitto. Garlic festivals are nothing new, but the community’s love for garlic and its success of growth in the area allows for the chance to shine light on local garlic farms and any garlic-themed creations. Everything sold has been created locally, and everything sold ties into garlic in some sort of way.
This will be Silver Maple Farm’s third year participating in the Cleveland Garlic Festival. Pohly remarked that “the Garlic Festival provides us a targeted, enthusiastic, informed group of prospective customers. It allows us to meet a whole lot of people, in a short period of time, from the greater Cleveland area, who really enjoy all things garlic. The value in this to Silver Maple goes well beyond a sale we may make.”
NUFM’s work would not be possible without its volunteers, especially with an event like the Garlic Festival. Volunteer Coordinator and Case Western Reserve University student Richelle Wong described their importance. “We have them checking people in, running the beer stations, ice cream, chef demos and the Mighty Locavore kids crafts table. The event wouldn’t run the same without them so I really appreciate all of our volunteers spending their precious weekend time helping us out here at the festival,” said Wong. Anyone can join the team of volunteers, and the organization is always open to more helping hands.
More than anything else, the theme of the Garlic festival and the organization as a whole is local impact. People from the neighborhood come back year after year to participate in the festivities. For Bitto, it’s this community that matters most. “We have a picture of this gentleman and his grandkids, and they’re wearing garlic hats, and I think it’s from like eight years ago. But they come every year, so every year we just update the picture, … to see them now, they’re teenagers, and it’s so sweet to just see that tradition in real time,” Bitto said.
Shaker Square is a little under three miles away from campus, perfect to escape to by bus route. Leave those textbooks behind, grab some breath mints and take a break before the semester gets busy to enjoy the garlic-centered festivities, bringing fresh food to local tables.