The Gallatin Valley Farmer’s Market (GVFM), hosted at the county fairgrounds (located at 901 N. Black Ave) in neighboring Bozeman, will kick off the 2025 season on Saturday, June 14th. This year, 15 vendors from Park County have registered to participate each Saturday from 9 am to 12 pm through September 13th, excluding July 12th and 19th—during the Gallatin County Annual Fair.

Independently organized in 1971, the market was created as a space for farmers and crops people to peddle produce, since evolving to include arts and crafts, live music, and food trucks, including fresh coffee and kettle-cooked popcorn.

The market is hosted by Career Transitions (CT), a local non-profit based in Belgrade tasked with workforce and human resource development through various employment and educational programs—HiSET preparation and examination (the High School Equivalency Test, similar to the General Education Development program, commonly referred to as the GED), Commercial Driver’s Licensing (CDL), career coaching and financial education. The overall mission of the organization is to promote self-sufficiency.

The farmers market, says newly hired manager Avery Helgeson, is a platform for small business owners to break into the larger marketplace in a low-cost, family-friendly environment—promoting independence and entrepreneurship within the community. Helgeson, who originally relocated to Gardiner in 2020, is the third market manager since Career Transitions was selected amongst several non-profit organizations to oversee the market in 1995, replacing Sarah Brandhorst, who succeeded Kristi Welch in 2020.

Supervised by Executive Director Jennifer Sipes, Helgeson, two market assistants and a small team of volunteers operate the market each weekend, which now includes roughly 150 vendors (not including weekly lottery vendors) from Bozeman, Belgrade, Three Forks, Manhattan, West Yellowstone, White Sulphur Springs, Big Timber, Wilsall, Emigrant, Pray and Livingston—some who have consistently attended the market for nearly 50 years.

Four of the fifteen vendors hailing from Park County raise livestock and crop to earn their living at the Gallatin Valley Farmers Market. Ripe produce grown locally is reaped sometimes daily in places like Livingston—transported to Bozeman before dawn for distribution at the market each Saturday. Rows of tables are lined with lush micro greens, corn and soy-free eggs, freshly cut flowers, and pasture-raised animal products—processed along Fleshman Creek or harvested in the Cokedale community.

Kira Jarosz from Black Dog Farms, an operation located just four miles northwest of Livingston, has attended the GVFM since 2018. Jarosz and her husband have been farming since 2017 and employ a small team of four assistants to help raise livestock and process animal products—primarily chicken, pork, duck and eggs. Apart from attending local farmers markets, they supply meat and eggs to restaurants such as Campione in Livingston and Little Star Diner, a farm-to-table establishment located in Bozeman.

Regarding the Gallatin Valley Farmers Market, Jarosz says, “It’s always been a great market, and it just gets better every year. I am always amazed at the variety of food Montana farmers are producing. It’s really amazing considering our climate. You can for sure buy all of your groceries at the market.”

Market member Borrowed Acre Produce, managed by Julie Serafin, is a small operation based in Livingston. Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, she relocated to Montana in 1999 and began attending the GVFM just one year later. Serafin, who started farming in 1996 on a single acre of borrowed land, grows a wide-variety of produce in limited fashion— lettuce, kale, spinach, radish, beets, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, garlic, onions and other vegetables, all raised on a one-acre plot. Serafin oversees the operation—what she’s taken to calling a boutique garden—with assistance from her two sons, who mostly help with manual labor.

Serafin also attends the Livingston Farmers Market every Wednesday at Sacajawea Park and sells maple syrup—sourced directly from her husband’s home state of Vermont.

When asked about her experiences at the GVFM, Serafin said, “I’ve participated in the market for 25 years. It’s run very well. Bozeman has great clientele interested in quality food. They’re willing to come out every week to support the farmers.”

Miller Farm and Willow Bend Produce, vendors based in Livingston, are also registered at the market, offering all-natural pork and a variety of produce, amongst other items.

Arts, crafts, and specialty foods vendors from Park County include Cauda Pavonis Jewelry, Adom Designs, Beanpod, DANGLESbyJAC, Marshall Pottery, Little Red Hobby Farm, Paradise Perk, Ruthless Roasting, T Designs and market-favorite Daisy Donuts. These attendees provide a number of commodities to enhance the markets offerings, including but not limited to coffee, pastries, wool products, custom designed hats, artwork, other craft goods and more.

Though unbeknownst to most, the GVFM also serves as the primary fundraising mechanism for Career Transitions. In her new role, Helgeson has been charged with elevating awareness about how funding earned through the farmers market is used to support programming at Career Transitions, amplifying social media marketing and devising strategies to solicit monetary contributions from the community to achieve this goal—crucial given the CDL program’s recent struggles, as well as rising rental costs at the Gallatin County fairgrounds. Rather than increasing vendor fees, Helgeson and her team are seeking support from the community.

“We want keep the market accessible for merchants and farmers while offsetting inflation and the rising cost of living,” says Helgeson.

In the past, donations have been accepted though not required for admission to the market. Moving forward, patrons will be encouraged to donate at least one dollar at the entrance to help Helgeson and Career Transitions achieve weekly fundraising goals.

Helgeson recently initiated a new sponsorship program, partnering with local businesses whose missions align with Career Transitions and the farmers market. These businesses make sizable donations in trade for a booth at the market to do outreach and education.

The Phoenix Garden Center (formerly Gallatin Valley Garden Center), for example, a plant nursery in Bozeman, offers horticulture classes for aspiring gardeners. For small business owners seeking financing, Clearwater Credit Union will provide financial education. Others include Outside Bozeman, Moonlight Productions and Blackwood Groves, each of which aim to promote community engagement in some aspect through their respective business models.

GVFM also became one of seven farmers markets in the state to receive a miniature grant awarded by Harvest of the Month, a non-profit program dedicated to providing education on locally-grown produce native to Montana, typically featuring one produce item per month—initially, in school-settings, yet recently adapted to farmers markets as Harvest of the Week. Grant funding will be used to implement the program at GVFM, highlighting vendors who grow and sell produce items featured weekly—a ripe example of how the market remains dedicated to celebrating farmers. Recipe cards with fun facts about various produce items will be available to market customers each week.

The Gallatin Valley Farmers Market is a stalwart for the agricultural community, giving priority to produce vendors and animal farmers who rely on it to maintain their livelihood. According to Helgeson, 30 to 40 percent of vendors fall into this category and are given preference over arts and crafts dealers (many of whom merely supplement their income by participating in the market) on the waitlist and for placement. You too can support this community most Saturdays this summer at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds from 9 am to 12 pm.

For more information about the market, such as weekly lottery registration, please contact Avery Helgeson at avery@careertransitions.com.

Share this article
The link has been copied!