North Union Farmers Market (NUFM), founded in 1995, is a nonprofit organization which opened its first farmers' market in Shaker Square. Today NUFM operates five successful producer-only farmers' markets in Northeast Ohio, and also actively educates the public about the benefits of eating locally grown, fresh food. Co-founder Donita Anderson, who first conceived the idea, is a chef, biologist and mother of three. Today, she and a dedicated board of volunteers from the community are the engine behind the organization's growth.

Donita has been the Market Manager of NUFM since its inception. Her passion for food was inspired by her early childhood visits to the Eastern Market in Detroit with her Burmese mother and aunts. After moving to Northeast Ohio, Donita drove for hours hunting for farms in search of the freshest produce available to feed her growing family. Her children got tired of spending so much time in the car, so Donita set out to bring the farms to her.

After years of planning and convincing, finally one morning in July 1995, six farms came together in Shaker Square to sell their produce. By 8:30 a.m., every stand at that first farmers' market had sold every bit of their produce. It was apparent that NUFM was on to something.

Donita and her co-founder Mary Holmes assembled a team of city merchants, community activists and farmers. This committed board recruited volunteers to do everything from designing a logo to creating official farmers' market rules and regulations. The market was modeled after the thriving Greenmarkets in New York City and the flourishing Dane County Market in Madison, Wisconsin. Donita selected the name, North Union Farmers Market, to honor the North Union Shakers, an agricultural people who lived in Northeast Ohio 150 years ago.

In the years since NUFM's opening day in Shaker Square, the growing consumer demand for high-quality, farm-fresh food in the city has resulted in a twelve-fold growth in the number of participating farms. NUFM now runs farmers' markets in Lakewood, Olmsted Falls, Parma and a second, indoor winter market at Shaker Square. During peak season market days, the farmers serve 5,000 customers. Donita now focuses her efforts on raising the markets to the level of sophistication of those found in California. Farmers there can support their entire families and run their farm by growing only for farmers' markets.

For centuries, markets have thrived in city centers. In addition to providing farm-fresh produce, markets offer community and social interaction. NUFM fosters community involvement and creates excitement about food. On a busy summer morning customers can be found exchanging recipes, meeting old friends and snacking on fresh-off-the-farm produce. The market is a family atmosphere where farmers share cooking tips with shoppers during the day and trade leftovers with other farmers at night as they load their trucks to go home. The journey to NUFM's tenth anniversary has been exciting and rewarding for everyone involved.

Donita Anderson is Market Manager at North Union Farmers Market. For more information call (216) 751-7656 and to view a schedule of NUFM locations, visit www.lkwdpl.org/farmersmarket/index.html.