"I'm disappointed. I sunk my heart and soul into the Highland market and grew it for the last four years," says Miller, who built it up and added a layout that shoppers found easy to navigate, weaving in live music, a mini beer garden and a diverse lineup of vendors selling fresh produce, prepared foods, plants and handicrafts.
"What a farmers' market does for Colorado's small farms and businesses, it's incredible," Miller notes, adding that most retailers and restaurants around the markets see a 40 percent uptick in sales on market days."A farmers' market is more than just a special event; it truly supports agriculture and the food chain as a whole."The farmers' market scene has changed a lot overall in the last few years, Miller says.
"I have been building these relationships with these farms because that's the backbone of the market. It's a way to bring the fresh produce in," says Miller."But there are only X amount of farms in the state, and they can only do X amount of markets." Miller points out that after starting to trend in 2008, farmers' markets have been growing in popularity every year."There is more interest in knowing your food, and in 2020 people started taking a bigger interest in nutrition and enhancing immunity," she notes. While Miller won't be running the Highland Square Farmers Market, her company has taken on a new space at 3010 East Sixth Avenue, at the edge of Cherry Creek.
The 2022 season will be the first since 2019 with no COVID-related restrictions . As long as there are no climate-charged disasters like deep freezes, violent hail or a complete drought, many of the markets will look the way they did pre-pandemic., it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism.