The Abiquiú Farmers Market

Come for the Fresh Finds, Stay for the Community

By Jessica & André Kempton

The Abiquiú Farmers Market, photo by Janet Harrington.

Every year, more than fifty New Mexico farmers markets help farmers and producers sell their agricultural bounty to their neighbors. In the north-central region, the Abiquiú Farmers Market is one of them.

Seven years ago, Andrew Furse and Lupita Salazar started the Abiquiú Farmers Market (AFM), which now counts about thirteen weekly vendors, and up to twenty in peak harvest months. “Pueblo de Abiquiú has been a place of trade and interaction for hundreds of years​,” ​Sa​lazar explained. “We are continuing that tradition by providing a space where folks can gather, and local farmers can sell food close to home.” Before they started the market, Salazar said, farmers in the Abiquiú area would generally sell their produce through a community supported agriculture (CSA) program, while many would attend bigger markets in Taos and Santa Fe. Even though she sold her produce to a few local businesses and neighbors, her farm, Querencia Creations, did not produce enough for a larger farmers market.

Born and raised on her family ranch in Cañones, Salazar traces her love for farming back to her grandfather Ben Salazar, who taught her and ​her brothers how to plant and take care of their garden. ​Salazar’s family and ours are longtime friends. More than once, we have purchased lamb raised by her family.

“I grow lettuce, other greens, beets, carrots, peas, amaranth,” the ​2020 Young Farmer Grant winner said. “I eat many of the weeds that grow in the garden, and love to find wild medicine hiding in different places around the ranch.” Salazar also grows red and blue corn for grinding, using a take on the nixtamal process, which she describes as the practice of soaking corn in an alkaline solution in order for the corn nutrients to become more accessible to the body. “Following the Diné practice, I previously used juniper ash to process my corn,” Salazar said. “Now I use ‘cal,’ or lime (calcium hydroxide), as shown by my friend Elsa Lopez, whose family is from Chihuahua. I sell it dried and ground at the farmers market.”

Photo by Janet Harrington.

Furse, who moved from Chicago to Medanales in 2012, met Salazar around 2017 while both were involved in the Northern Youth Project (Furse as a volunteer and Salazar as a staff member), a nonprofit focused on supporting teens. Furse also had an agricultural background. On his farm, Cassius Quail, located in Medanales, he raised quail and chickens for eggs and meat. Furse also sold quail as pets to children at the market and raised turkeys for Thanksgiving for over a decade.

Furse’s desire to start a veggie delivery business led him to reach out and convince Richard Trout, then a board member of the nonprofit Tres Semillas, that hosting a farmers market on the organization’s land would be successful. Thanks to a collaboration with Tres Semillas, the AFM secured an official physical location near the Abiquiú post office. On the first day of the first market in early July 2017, Salazar and Furse both set up their booths under the trees and waited patiently for customers.

To raise awareness in the early market years, Furse emailed folks a weekly list of available produce, while Salazar invited friends through Facebook. Both agreed that while the AFM may have started small, the momentum slowly built to make the market “a social place where people could meet and enjoy time together.”

In 2019, the AFM became a program of Luciente, a nonprofit that serves children and youth in the northern part of Rio Arriba County, after Furse and Salazar reached out to Luciente board members Wendy and Bob Dolci. “This was one of the best decisions we’ve made since showing up to that empty parking lot​,” said Furse. “With the support from Luciente, we developed a voucher program called Kid Bucks that engages children with the market by providing them economic independence.” Luciente’s president, Jen Harrington, prints and cuts out every “dollar” given away for the voucher program. Partnering with Luciente also allows the market to participate in USDA programs like SNAP and FreshRX.

“Children that show up to the market receive a colorful paper voucher—money that can be used however they choose​,” Furse explained. “It’s amazing to see how much joy three dollars can bring to children when it’s their decision on how they will spend it. We hope that this experience will leave lasting memories and help them develop positive associations with farmers markets.”

Furse cited Gil Luhman, Gloria McFarland, Peggy McCracken, Jeff Nitz, Vivian Jean, Tiffany Fernandez, Lloyd Ferran, and Eunice Naranjo as some of the first AFM market vendors.

“Look for what you like, ask questions, and try something new or revisit the familiar. Just remind yourself that growing food takes a lot of work. Comparing the price of commodities from hand-grown farmers markets to the supplemented, big-box growers is like comparing apples to oranges,” Furse said, encouraging first-time visitors to come with an open mind.

Loretta Fresquez, who has owned the three-acre Monte Vista Organic Farm with her husband, David, for fifty years, described the AFM as “a fairly new and friendly market that has a really local feel.” Both born and raised in Española, the Fresquezes reside in La Mesilla, a small community located across the Rio Grande from Santa Clara Pueblo. All year round, this multigenerational family farm produces crops outside and in three large high tunnels.

“Our biggest crop is the many varieties of tomatoes we sell to restaurants in Santa Fe, Abiquiú, Los Alamos, and the Abiquiú Farmers Market,” Loretta said. “We cultivate veggies and flowers.” She added that the AFM offers a wide range of produce, delicious types of bread, pastries, homemade jams, jellies, fruit drinks, and even tamales.

Salazar describes the AFM vendors as an eclectic group made up of seasoned farmers, bakers, chefs, foodies, and mamas and kids who had a bumper crop in their garden. “There are a few people who come and go according to what is abundant in their gardens. Particularly, fruit vendors will show up with apricots, cherries, apples, plums, and peaches when we have a good fruit year,” Salazar said. “It’s a small market, but there are some really great finds and a dedicated core group of vendors who show up every single week.”

According to Furse, the market is open to all, from hobby orchardists to veteran farmers to ranchers to beekeepers. Regular vendors are charged five dollars per market day, and first-timers who want to try it out, zero.

In 2023, pastry chef Nina Armijo was a first-time vendor and quickly earned the nickname of the Pie Lady. Born and raised in Northern California, Armijo moved to Abiquiú in 1998 with her family. Now she lives in El Valle de Arroyo Seco, between Pojoaque and Española, and owns Boxed Bakery. “I will go pick fruits from orchards in Abiquiú and anywhere people allow me to pick and purchase fruits. I raise chickens and use the eggs I gather for my baked goods,” Armijo said. “It feels good to be part of this community. I feel welcomed.”

For Armijo, the market is the place to be on Tuesdays from 4 ​pm to 6 pm. She became an AFM vendor to give back to the community, be involved with something positive, and make people smile with a small pie or a tartlet. “Last year, many people who came to the market were just passing by and stumbled upon the market, while others came from Colorado,” Armijo said. “I think they see the community we have and want to support it.”

Located across the street from Bode’s General Store next to the Abiquiú post office, the Abiquiú Farmers Market is operating again this year every Tuesday, rain or shine, June 4 through October 29, between 4 and ​6 pm. The market hours are set after the nine-to-five crowd is off work, which allows for maximum participation and visibility since the selected space is located on a major highway. In addition to fresh finds, visitors may also enjoy live music.

“The Abiquiú Farmers Market is where I meet some of my favorite people, excited to find out what they have grown or made.​ I can get most of my groceries at the market during the summer. My weekly intake of zucchini, bread, and cookies goes up for sure,” ​​Salazar said. “Between what my family and I raise, and all the delicious goodies folks grow and make, I eat good all summer.”

2 County Rd 187, Abiquiú, lucienteinc.org/programs