To put it bluntly, Des Moines is one of the United States’ flyover cities. And unless you live in the Midwest or, like me, are from a tiny gathering in the middle of a cornfield that can loosely be described as a town, you probably don’t even consider Des Moines to be much of a city. Spoiler alert: if you’re going to compare Des Moines to New York or even what’s left of Chicago, it’s going to come up a little short. But what we lack in skyscrapers, we make up for in farmer’s markets. This shouldn’t be a shock, either—obviously, a city in the middle of state known for its farmers is going to have an awesome farmer’s market. Specifically, the downtown Des Moines farmer’s market is to die for, and without further ado, here are some of the best items you can find, buy, and eat there.
1. Fresh produce
Ok, this is a pretty obvious one. All farmer’s markets have fresh produce, and since it’s locally grown, it’s always much more delicious than what you can find at whatever grocery store you frequent. But still, you can always find yummy fresh fruit at the downtown farmer’s market.
2. Fresh Veggies
Another obvious one—duh, every farmer’s market has fresh vegetables. But these are fresh Iowa veggies. Plus, Midwest-nice isn’t just a myth. Everyone manning a stall at the Des Moines farmer’s market is always super friendly, and they’ll definitely be excited to talk to you about their products.
3. Fresh smoothies
This is one you probably can’t find at every farmer’s market on the planet. And I can personally attest to the fact that nothing tastes better on a sweltering Iowa summer morning than an ice-cold, freshly mixed strawberry smoothie. Made with real strawberries. Just imagine it. Then drive to Des Moines and pick one up on Saturday.
4. Fresh baked goods
One of the best parts about the Des Moines downtown farmer’s market is some of the oddities you can buy there. In the mood for bubble tea? They’ve got it. Want an eggroll at 8 a.m.? You can find those at the farmer’s market too. Fresh flowers? Check. A cactus? Done. It sounds hard to believe, but you can genuinely find just about anything you want at the Des Moines farmer’s market—as long as it’s in season, of course.
5. Bubble tea and other oddities
One of the best parts about the Des Moines downtown farmer’s market is some of the oddities you can buy there. In the mood for bubble tea? They’ve got it. Want an eggroll at 8 a.m.? You can find those at the farmer’s market too. Fresh flowers? Check. A cactus? Done. It sounds hard to believe, but you can genuinely find just about anything you want at the Des Moines farmer’s market—as long as it’s in season, of course.
