Editor’s note: This summer, Kentwired.com will be integrating more visual content, specifically photography and photo essay material, along with multimedia stories, onto the website. Anna Hoffman is a staff photographer for summer Kentwired.com. With these photos she hopes to capture the spirit of the local farmer’s market in downtown Kent.

Matt Herbuck, owner of Birdsong Farm, said he has been working farmers markets for nearly 20 years. “When I got here (from Maine), the local foods movement was really gaining some speed. Economy-wise, this place is booming,” he said. Dave Waldeck, a former Kent State student, said he majored in biology and was inspired to work the market as an environmental cause. “This is our favorite market: Kent, hands down. The people are fantastic…and they buy for all the right reasons,” he said.

“I started the company, KC Coffee, for (my dogs) Koda and Cayanne. Koda passed away and then six months later this guy came running to me… I think it was a sign. His name is Koton,” said Carter Bailey, owner of KC Coffee Company, a local coffee roasting business that aims to use natural ingredients for all of its products. Bailey said he deals directly with a farm in El Salvador for his signature Koda blend.

Shari Keefe, who said she was one of the original vendors at the market, drives from Hiram to sell home-grown flowers and homemade jams. She uses local berries and other local ingredients in her products. “This is fun, and Kent is so fun. People come here in the rain just to say ‘hi’…because they we are still here in the rain,” she said. “That’s such a great attitude.”

Fifteen years ago, Hannah, who sells handmade bags, wallets and pouches, moved from Thailand to Wisconsin. She spoke in broken English about meeting her husband, a Marine Corps officer, moving to Ohio for his treatment at the Cleveland Clinic, and coming to Kent to sell her bags.

Jerome Bragg has been creating tie-dye clothing since the 1980s, and after spending 15 years being a tattoo artist, decided to create his own company while spending time in San Francisco. Bragg now lives in Kent and sells his creations every weekend. “Everybody gets together on Saturdays…It’s organic food and everything,” he said. “It’s a good place to get some healthy food.”

Hoping to get more Kent State students to come try their locally grown apples, Doug Woolf, owner of Morning DEW Orchards in Salem, and Allie Mack, an employee at the Orchard, said they help shoppers choose the best apples each Saturday. “We’d love to see more students at the winter market,” Woolf said. “I think a lot of student don’t even know (the market is available to them).”