Riverview Farmstead Market Lets Shoppers Connect to the Source

Buying groceries at the store doesn’t require much interaction. Shoppers have a list, they pick out the best-looking item and they move on.

For those shoppers who want to connect with the people who actually grow and produce the food that will be put on the table, there is another opportunity.

The Riverview Farmstead Market, at the intersection of 111th and Book Road, is a farmers market in its second year of operation, said Sarah Stephens, an interpretive specialist for the Forest Preserve District of Will County, which runs the market.

It is open every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. with vendors from around the area selling a variety of items from salsa to poultry.

Last year the market was open for half of the summer season but this year the market opened in June and continues through September, Stephens said.

The market is a way to “reconnect people with where their food is coming from and to reconnect people with the agricultural heritage of the area,” she said.

In the 1990s the Forest Preserve District acquired the land, which was the Thomas Clow homestead, and preserved it and some of the historic buildings on the site dating back to the mid-1800s, she said. The homestead adds to the market’s atmosphere.

Not many people are aware that the farmers market is at the location, and the Forest Preserve District hopes that more people will stop and visit, Stephens said.

Every week at 10 a.m., there is a program geared to elementary-age children that features a fruit or product from the farm, Stephens said. The children learn about where the item is grown, where it comes from and what it tastes like. This week the featured fruit will be blueberries.

The Will County master gardeners also spend time at the farmers market sharing tips with shoppers, Stephens said.

The third Thursday of the month there are special programs along with the regular market, she said. In August there will be a tractor show and representatives from the Naper Settlement make special historical presentations.

Shoppers who have questions are free to talk with the vendors, Stephens said, adding that it is not unusual for the poultry farmer to spend 10 minutes talking about their chickens and how they are raised.

“We are a small market but we’ve got a lot of great stuff,” Stephens said. “And everything is local and coming from our area.”

The Riverview Farmers Market is at 111th and Book Road and is open every Thursday through September from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To learn more about the market and its vendors visit the website.