Riverview Market Connects Farm with Farm Produce

Most people head to the air-conditioned aisles of the supermarket to get their produce.

Some are signing on for upstart services like , which delivers locally grown veggies right to their neighborhood. A growing number frequent local farmers markets for fresh fare.

But there’s another tucked-away little spot on Plainfield’s northern fringes where you can stock up on vittles the old-fashioned way. Just go right to the farm - Riverview Farmstead Market, that is.

“It’s a way to connect people with where their food is coming from,” Sarah Stephens an interpretive specialist for the Forest Preserve District of Will County, told us the day we stumbled onto the market on Book Road between 119th and 111th streets.

Riverview Farmstead is, in fact, the Thomas Clow homestead, the first farm in Wheatland Township, Stephens said. In the 1990s, the forest preserve district bought the land and the historic buildings on it, which were built in the mid-1800s.

From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday through September, local farmers and food-makers sell their wares at the Riverview Farmstead Market. What you'll find are fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry, gourmet products and other goods.

On the last Thursday in July, we found Larry Opiela, of Joliet, peddling his Dad’s Roadhouse brand mango-lime habanera, apple butter and sauces. Joe Siwak, with Great Harvest Bread, stood behind a display of fresh-baked whole wheat loaves and gluten-free sugar and chocolate chip cookies.

“It’s a fun way to find out what kinds of things are being produced right in our back yards,” Opiela said.

Will County Master Gardeners are on hand to share gardening tips and, from 10 to 11 a.m. there’s a "Fresh from the Farm" program that showcases fun facts about a certain fruit or vegetable. On Aug. 28, there will be a tractor show.