Products from Heartland Meats are sold at Illinois farmers markets located in Evanston, Oak Park, Mount Prospect and Chicago.
USDA Celebrates National Farmers Market Week
By Lauren Moore, FSA Public Affairs Specialist
John and Pat Sondgeroth, owners and operators of Heartland Meats in Mendota, Illinois, have been selling their meat products at farmers markets in the Chicago area for 17 years.
This week, USDA is joining farmers, like the Sondgeroths, in celebrating National Farmers Market Week. Farmers markets give consumers access to locally grown and farm-fresh products, while giving farmers the platform to grow and connect with their customer base.
“We sell roughly 50 percent of products at farmers markets,” said John.
As fourth-generation farmers, John and Pat began operating their grain and livestock farm in 1987, where they raise and process Piedmontese beef. The farm has been in John’s family for over a century, established in 1903 by his great-grandfather.
The Sondgeroths opened a processing plant, where they only process beef they raise. Their products are sold directly to consumers.
“We were the first vendors to sell meat at Chicago farmers markets,” he said. “We’ve seen competitors come and go.”
According to John, having “taste, tenderness and consistency” sets them apart from their competition at farmers markets. However, wholesale markets are the Sondgeroth’s biggest competitor.
“I really like interacting and working directly with the consumers at farmers markets,” John said. “Educating consumers is a challenge in the agriculture industry. We have to tell our story, what we do, why we do it and how. It’s a necessity.”
Throughout the week, Heartland’s products are sold at Illinois farmers markets located in Evanston, Oak Park, Mount Prospect and Chicago. John said farmers markets take up around 70 hours of their time every week. On Saturdays, while John takes on the Oak Park Farmers Market, Pat runs their station at the Evanston Farmers Market, and their daughter, Katie, covers Green City Market.
“Saturday is our longest day,” he said. “The alarm goes off at 12:30 in the morning, we are on the road by 1:30 and in downtown Chicago by 3:30. We have to go to bed at 6 p.m. every Friday.”
Aside from farmers markets, their products are sold in their Mendota store, on their website, at the Dill Pickle Food Co-op and restaurants located in Chicago and Wheaton.
Celebrate National Farmers Market Week by visiting your local farmers market and supporting the farmers who supply fresh produce and products to your community. Use the National Farmers Market Directory to find a market near you: https://www.ams.usda.gov/local-food-directories/farmersmarkets. To date, there are nearly 8,700 markets in the USDA Farmers Market Directory.
