See why one unseasonably sunny Sunday turned Montavilla Farmers Market’s 20th season opener into a neighborhood homecoming – and learn how this weekly market is reshaping the local business district …
This sunny Sunday morning brings a “bumper crop” of shoppers to Montavilla Farmers Market’s 20th season opening day.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
On an unseasonably warm and sunny Sunday, May 3rd, at SE 76th and Stark, the Montavilla Farmers Market opened its 20th season with packed vendor rows, and one of its biggest opening-day crowds in years.
“Today is the first day of our 20th season,” Market Manager Anina Estrem told East Portland News as the market was already underway.
“We’d spent 20 years building a vendor base and community and getting people out for good food; that mix of regulars and newcomers was exactly what has kept the market going,” Estrem noted.
Market Manager Anina Estrem spends a moment with vendor Roxanne Olson of Floraboros.
A Neighbor-Built Market
The Montavilla Farmers Market began 20 years ago as a grassroots project. People involved with the Montavilla East Tabor Business Association business district clamored for a local farmers market, and the idea became reality on July 22, 2007, when the market opened with 17 vendors and more than 2,000 visitors. [See our first-day-ever, market opening story: CLICK HERE.]
Since autumn 2020, it operated year-round, adjusting its schedule with the seasons.
This shopper takes time to peruse the photo gallery depicting the market’s two decades in the neighborhood.
Over nearly two decades, the market grew into a regular Sunday stop. Many small businesses started at the market and later moved into brick-and-mortar locations, or expanded to other markets. Estrem stressed that growth cut both ways: The market helped vendors get established, and those vendors helped keep Montavilla’s commercial district active.
“There were so many businesses that were able to start from nothing and grow through us,” she reflected. “It was also a community gathering space. We’d gotten more people there than we’d had all year so far. People were chatting, they were connecting, supporting our local vendors.”
At The Vegucation Station booth, Laura Bennett promotes what is in season today. “We get vegetables in season, and inspire people on how to use spring produce.”
She went further, describing how the weekly crowds now shape the wider business district: “It is also a community gathering space. It is a huge economic boost. Our stores in Montavilla even changed their hours, to line up with market days, so they could take advantage of all the shoppers wandering around.”
What shoppers find at the market
On a typical summer Sunday, the market hosts around 60–65 vendors. The focus remains on farm-direct products – local farms selling their own produce, flowers, meat, and eggs – alongside prepared foods and pantry items.
“We really try to prioritize farm-direct products,” Estrem explained. “So there were going to be a lot of farmers, and then a lot of value-added products.”
For this milestone season, that translates into a broad mix of products from which shoppers select.
“This year we got a lot of hot sauces – and sort of, yeah – saucy items,” she grinned. “Some really quality breads and pastries, some preserved products, sauerkraut, pickles, mushrooms, flowers. We have a little bit of everything.”
Pressed for more examples, she and the interviewer bantered:
“Beets,” he prompted.
“Beets, yes,” she confirmed.
“Meats?”
“Oh, meats, yes, yes, meats and eggs, yeah,” she agreed. “We have some new meat vendors, we’re expanding a little bit of that this year, too.”
Jennifer Ikeda shows off a sample Chonghi Pizza saying “it’s sort of Neapolitan style pizza – mixed flavors we grew up with in Hawai’i”.
In the dining tent, it’s Copeland enjoying a midday lunch with mom Rachel Warner of Montavilla.
Each season, organizers also set aside booth space for nonprofit community organizations. In 2025, market visitors spent an estimated $1.9 million over 43 market days, supporting 92 local farms and businesses, and drawing about 67,500 visits.
For the market’s 20th season, opening day included a look back as well as ahead: A display tracing the market’s history, a DIY button-making station, a T-shirt giveaway, and a seasonal recipe demonstration. The celebration was supported by a grant from the Portland Events and Film Office.
Offering his fresher-than-fresh eggs it’s Noah Paxton of The Ground Market (formerly Source Farms), who brought them in from the farm in Yamhill.
New Vendors for 2026
The 2026 season brought in 15 new vendors, expanding what shoppers could take home for the week. A handful of examples hint at the range:
Alleamin African Kitchen offering Somali dishes built around local ingredients, with halal and vegan options.
Crooked Carrot Farm bringing vegetables from a small Helvetia farm, with an emphasis on winter crops.
Rhythm Seed Farm grows locally adapted seeds in NE Portland and donated about half to lower-income communities and school gardens.
Three Goats Farm near Oregon City raises produce and turned it into fermented hot sauces and pickles.
Wafeltje Stroopwafels bakes handmade Dutch stroopwafels from scratch, on site.
Wild Roots Spirits proffers infused spirits with locally grown fruit.
Taken together, the new vendors reinforce the market’s mix of staple groceries – produce, meat, bread – and specialty items such as sauces, baked goods, spirits, seeds, and plants, and giving shoppers more ways to fill out a week’s meals in one stop.
Estrem emphasized that balance was intentional. “I was really excited about our new vendors! I just felt like we now have a really well-rounded selection of vendors, so if people come out, they find a little bit of everything… stock their kitchen, grab lunch, get dessert, find something to play with, just come and hang out.”
Access, SNAP, and community support
The market accepts SNAP and EBT Cash Benefits, and offers a dollar-for-dollar match on SNAP purchases up to $20 per market. That matching program stretches food budgets while directing more dollars toward small local farms.
Vendors hustle to restock their shelves as waves of shoppers snap up their fresh produce.
Looking Ahead – and looking around
One question hanging over the market has been its long-term location. The current site is officially for sale, but Estrem stresses that, for the time being, operations continue as usual.
“As far as we knew, it was for sale, and had been for a while. We are certainly looking for other options, but it seems like things are moving kind of slow, so we are still in the exploring options phase.”
For this season, she expects the market to stay put. “It’d be really cool, and it does seem likely,” she reflected. “We don’t think that we’ll be displaced too quickly.”
For shoppers, that means the basic routine holds: Show up on Sundays, wander through the stalls, talk to farmers and producers, grab a bite to eat, and catch up with neighbors.
Shoppers enjoy their time at the Montavilla Farmers Market.
Montavilla Farmers Market – At a Glance
Schedule: Every Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. May through December
Location: SE 76th & SE Stark Street
Parking: Free on-street parking
Pro tip: Arrive early! Many vendors sell out of choice selections quickly!
Pups: Market is friendly-dog friendly
Website: CLICK HERE
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
