We may not be in Nebraska or Iowa, but sweet corn is in season here in Southern Arizona.
In celebration of the abundance, the Tucson Farmers Market held a corn festival Friday at Jesse Owens Park, 400 S. Sarnoff Drive.
The farmers market has three different locations on three different days. It's open at Jesse Owens Park on Fridays, Oro Valley Town Hall on Saturdays and at St. Philip's Plaza on Sundays. Summer hours are 8 a.m.-noon.
"People want a sense of community and are looking for fresh, wholesome food," said Roxanne Garcia, market manager for the Tucson Farmers Market.
Friday's affair featured 30 vendors selling everything from honey and watermelon to pork and eggs.
Garcia said people are learning how to eat seasonally from local growers.
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"Growing in Southern Arizona is very challenging but they're doing it and people are buying it," she said. "I'm thrilled the community is on this side and supporting it."
For Suzan Seay going to farmers markets is now a way of life. For the past four months she and her family have been getting their food only from markets.
"It's all the food that we should be eating," she said after picking up some corn, garlic, onions and a pasture-raised chicken at the Walking J Farm booth.
"Sustainable farming is the only way people will be well," she said. "You know where your food is coming from."
As a result, she said, "Our lives have completely changed for the better."
If you go
Tucson Farmers Markets
• Where: Fridays at Jesse Owens Park at 400 S. Sarnoff Drive; Saturdays at Oro Valley Town Hall, 11000 N. La Canada Drive; and Sundays at St. Philip's Plaza, 4300 N. Campbell Ave.
• When: Summer hours are 8 a.m.-noon
• For more information: Go to www.farmersmarkettucson.com or call 882-2157
