By Dustin Shipman
dshipman@joplinglobe.com
WEBB CITY, Mo. — When most people think of a farmers’ markets, it likely brings to mind memories of homegrown vegetables sold out of the back of pickup trucks on the town square.
Webb City’s market is similar, only in a sheltered area at a city park.
Where the market differs, however, is in its collateral aspects. It not only is a market, but a provider of entertainment, lunch and community, with a heavy emphasis on charity.
Betty Rand, from Carterville, was operating just one of the charity booths that could be found at the market on Friday, selling used purses and donated stuffed animals as a way to raise money to help the less fortunate.
Rand said she came up with the idea via her church, and started collecting purses to sell to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital for cancer research for children.
“I had planned to just do this week, but everyone has been asking me if I would be here next week, so if I have some left then I probably will,” Rand said.
Rand said the opportunity to set up shop at the market was a perfect fit for her, and that people from throughout the community had come by to help out.
Nine-year-old Matty Mclaughlin has her own little corner at the market, raising money for the Freeman Health System Foundation’s effort for autistic children with a lemonade stand.
Mclaughlin said she came up with the idea because her cousin suffered from autism. She said she had raised nearly $100 at the stand, all of which will go to the foundation.
Eileen Nichols, an organizer of the market, said finding charity groups as well as people willing to help them is not rare at the market and that above all, it’s a place to bring the community together.
“On Tuesdays, we have our Cooking for a Cause, which serves lunch, and we have about 15 non-profit groups that come out here and take turns serving lunch from week to week,” Nichols said. “For the whole season, that alone raises about $15,000 to $20,000 for these (charity) groups.”
Nichols said organizations like the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Missouri, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Joplin Little Theater are among the groups that have served lunch at the market to raise money for their prospective groups.
“This is something very typical of farmers’ markets now,” she said. “Quality of life is an important issue here at this market, and the idea of community and good works has always been a strong part as well.”
Market hours
The Webb City Farmers’ market is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays in the King Jack Park pavilion in Webb City. Information: (417) 673-5866.
