06/07/2026
Three women.
One knitting table.
And an idea that quietly reshaped how Northeast Michigan eats, shops, and connects.
Twenty‑seven years ago, three local women sat together and imagined something that did not yet exist here: a regional farm market that would make it easy for neighbors to buy directly from the people who grow their food. They wanted to support small farmers. They wanted to give residents another way to access fresh, local food. And they wanted to build a sense of community around all of it.
From that simple conversation, the Northeast Michigan Regional Farm Market was born.
For the past 26 years, these women have worked tirelessly to turn that idea into a living, breathing part of our region’s identity. Season after season, they showed up. They organized vendors. They answered questions. They solved problems. They held the vision when it would have been easier to let someone else take over—or to let it fade away.
Because of their commitment, what started as a hopeful experiment has grown into something much larger: a market that has become a meeting place, a business hub, and a community anchor.
Today, their work can be seen not just in the crowds that gather on market days, but in the very structures that now house this vision. Two permanent venues—one in Tawas City and one in AuSable Township—stand as visible proof of what perseverance, cooperation, and community spirit can build over time. These aren’t just buildings. They are homes for relationships, for traditions, and for local commerce.
At these markets, residents can do something that is increasingly rare in today’s world: look the person who grew their vegetables, raised their meat, or baked their bread in the eye and say “thank you.” They can ask how the season is going, what went into the harvest, or how to cook something new. Children can see that food doesn’t just appear on a shelf—it comes from soil, from hands, from neighbors.
In an era when so much of our shopping has become anonymous and distant, this direct connection matters more than ever.
The Northeast Michigan Regional Farm Market has helped local producers stay in business by giving them a reliable, accessible place to sell what they grow and make. It has helped residents support those producers in a way that fits into everyday life. And it has woven together countless small interactions into long‑lasting relationships—between farmers and customers, between vendors, and between communities that might otherwise drift apart.
Over 26 years, these markets have created more than commerce. They have created tradition. People plan their weeks around market days. They meet friends there. They bring out‑of‑town guests. They watch the seasons change through what appears on the tables: spring greens, summer berries, fall squash, winter preserves.
None of this happened by accident.
It happened because three women refused to let the idea go. It happened because they believed that local food, local farms, and local people were worth fighting for. It happened because their sense of community was not a slogan—it was a daily practice.
Their work has given Northeast Michigan something to be proud of:
• Two permanent market structures in Tawas City and AuSable Township.
• A stronger, more resilient local food system.
• A gathering place where neighbors can see, support, and celebrate one another.
As we look at these thriving markets today, it is easy to see the tents, the tables, the full baskets, and the steady flow of customers. What we must not lose sight of is the quiet, persistent work that built it all from nothing.
This article is, at its heart, a thank you to Stephanie Wentworth, Penny Rose and Mary Margaret Brown.
Thank you to the women who sat around a knitting table and chose to say, “What if?”
Thank you for the early mornings, the long meetings, the phone calls, the problem‑solving, and the days when only your determination kept things moving.
Thank you for believing that our communities deserved local food, local farms, and a place to come together.
Twenty‑seven years on, the Northeast Michigan Regional Farm Market is more than a success story. It is a reminder of what can happen when a few ordinary people decide to do something extraordinary—for all of us.
