Soulard Market: A fresh way to shop

| Scene Reporter

Soulard Market befuddles your senses. Calls of “strawberries!” and “fresh frog legs!” collide and bounce into you. The infinite colors and fragrances swirl so quickly from the stands that you begin to smell the moist greens, yellows and reds of the peppers. What look like ordinary grapes grow to the size of half dollars as you approach the heaped bunches.

As you walk down the aisles, your hands are stopped at your side, unable to reach forward and begin to judge which piece of produce you should choose. Soulard Market is like this all year round.

Although summer is over and the traditional farmers’ market season is coming to a close, Soulard Market is open every week of the year, Wednesday through Saturday. Hidden between the brick warehouses that litter St. Louis, the market offers everything: seasonal produce, Betty Boop handbags, fresh flowers and rabbits—both to pet and to eat—all at amazing prices.

When I visited last Saturday, yellow and red peppers were 75 cents each, ribs were $1.98 a pound and a carton of strawberries was a buck. That week those same items sold at Schnucks for $1.99, $4.99 and $2.99 respectively. The lower prices, however, do not signify lower quality; all of the food I bought was not only as tasty as that found in the indoor produce departments, but in many cases larger and plumper.

Many vendors actually buy their food from the same farms as chain grocers, but as one vendor explained, it’s the convenience of supermarkets that allows them to “jack up the prices.”

Sandra Zak, the market director, said this is what defines Soulard as a public market, where vendors can resell goods they have purchased elsewhere, rather than a farmer’s market, where all the vendors grow or produce what they sell.

There is plenty of produce, however, that is sold by the same hands that grew it; you just have to ask around for the local or organic vendors. In fact, Kruse’s Farm, which supplies Wash. U. Dining Services with some of its organic and locally grown products, has a regular booth in the market.

Soulard has been a part of St. Louis since Julia Soulard designated it as a public market in 1838. Despite this historical status, it is not a huge tourist attraction and retains the feeling of a small-town market.

The variety of goods for sale is rivaled only by the diversity and character of the people in the market. It’s the perfect place to meander and watch men in overalls stack cantaloupes to the songs of a fedora-wearing recorder player while a blonde middle-aged woman explains to customers of all ages and ethnicities what exactly a pork rind is and how it is made.

And if you’re ever overwhelmed by the choices of the market, someone will be more than happy to offer information on what a certain unfamiliar vegetable is or how to prepare it. One white-haired lady educated me on the many ways to cook okra and warned me that under no circumstance should I boil it.

According to Sandra Zak, Soulard Market still remains successful in the age of 24-hour supermarkets for economic reasons.

There are about 90 vendors every week, some of which are families who have sold at the market for over 50 years as their main source of income. But with economic concerns abounding lately, others, like a young software tester who makes and sells mini donuts at the market, use Soulard to supplement their income.

Soulard also provides an affordable way for people of St. Louis to buy healthy food. In fact, many booths accept food stamps. Zak considers this to be one of the most important qualities of Soulard Market, which she described as “a haven for people on a limited budget who want to get good, wholesome food.”

So next time you’re stuck in line at Schnucks with a cart full of cheap frozen food, consider heading down to Soulard Market. Located south of downtown on Carroll Street, it’s a 15-minute drive if you have a car, and with creative use of the Metro system you can be there within an hour. The food, prices and community experience of a local market place will be worth your while.

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