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In 1974 Oak Parkers Carla Lind and Marge Gockel had an idea for a farmers' market. They approached Sarah Bode, then head of the Oak Park Mall, to ask about using one of the mall parking lots. Fearing loss of parking spaces, the idea was rejected, but Sarah referred Carla and Marge to Village Hall. The next year the Village agreed to sponsor the market and the rest, as they say, is history. Here's a brief outline of how the Oak Park Farmers' Market became the community institution it is today:
1974 — Oak Parkers Carla Lind and Marge Gockel begin develop a market modeled after markets in Evanston, Illinois, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1975 — The Village agreed to sponsor the market and an Oak Park Farmers' Market Commission (OPFM) is established, reporting to the Office of the Clerk, with an assigned Health Department liaison and a Trustee liaison. Ads seeking vendors are placed in the Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Grower, with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and an organic growers' association.
1976 — The Oak Park Farmers' Market opens on North Boulevard between Euclid and East avenues. Finding farmers to participate in the first season is difficult, but by the end of the season the market grows to include 33 growers. The market now extends across East to Scoville Avenue.
1977 — Non-profit community organizations are allowed to participate in the market through the Bake Sale Program.
1978 — The market moves to the parking lot of the Pilgrim Congregational Church at Lake Street and Elmwood Avenue, beginning a long, successful partnership. Two men from the church open the first donut stand.
1979 — The first food demonstrations are held inside the market. Paper shopping bags are sold at the OPFM Commissioners table. A cheese vendor is approved for participation in the market. Local music store Guitar Fun provides bluegrass musical entertainment for the first time.
1980 — The OPFM Commission commemorates the first day of the market with a giveaway of 500 OPFM balloons. Cut Flowers are sold at the market for the first time.
1982 — The OPFM Commission hosts the first corn roast event in August.
1983 — The OPFM Commission hosts the first stone soup event. In order to manage customer needs, the commission establishes a corps of volunteers called Friends of the Market.
1984 — The first Oak Park Farmers’ Market Cookbook is produced and sold at the market. The Farmers’ Market Song is written by Larry Jakus.
1986 — An estimated 7,000 shoppers visits the market on September 6. The Market achieves widespread notoriety with what became known as the cauliflower caper when a grower is barred for selling produce he had not grown. The local news media, the Chicago press and even the Wall Street Journal cover the story. The OPFM Commission conducts its first farm inspections.
1987 — 800 ears of corn are sold at the corn roast event. The OPFM Commission sells its first sweatshirts.
1988 — The second Oak Park Farmers’ Market Cookbook is produced.
1989 — The Oak Park Farmers’ Market is given the Community Merit Award by the Oak Park Development Corporation (OPDC), a not-for-profit organization founded in 1974 to stimulate economic development in the Village. The market is cited in the All-American City Award.
1990 — Litigation continues on the cauliflower caper.
2000 — The Oak Park Farmers’ Market celebrates its 25th anniversary. The market is listed as one of the three best markets in the Midwest by Country Garden Magazine and was named Favorite Local Event in the Oak Park Wednesday Journal readers' Choice poll.
2004 — The first certified organic vendor sells produce at the market. The Village Board of Trustees approves the sale of animal products in the market.
2005 — The market celebrates its 30th Anniversary. Two meat farmers sell animal products in the market.
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