This summer has been like none other before. As the world of humans has been turned upside down by COVID-19, however, the sun continues to rise and set, and gardens still grow.

So even though there haven’t been kids activities down at the Homer Farmers Market this summer, you can still feed your kids the freshest and best local food around. Even though restaurants that normally buy local produce shut down or massively slowed their business, farmers still grew tons of produce for locals to eat.

Even though the parking lot at the Market wasn’t impossibly packed with cars like usual, a quick pass down Ocean Drive will allow you a peak at the impossible size of Farmer Bob’s cabbage and Northern Candy Roaster squash. Even though the quantity of business at the Farmers Market slowed, the Alaska Food Hub online sales skyrocketed.

And even though this weekend will be the last staffed Market, there will not be a Harvest Party. This means that Marsha won’t spend a day cutting up vegetables for the huge pots of stew. Farmers won’t be spending a day making various potluck dishes for the crowd. But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t all those veggies for that stew and it certainly doesn’t mean that the farmers don’t have appreciation for that crowd of customers.

Though it will not be possible for the farmers to show their appreciation with the Harvest Party, it will be impossible for them to stop the produce from coming in. The variety of vegetables at the Market is still staggering, as it is every year at this time. The root vegetables that store so well are stacked up next to the tasty greens that you could have for dinner tonight. Stocking up on the onions and garlic and tomatoes means that you can have salsa canned for the winter or simply chopped up for tonight’s spaghetti dinner.

We are resilient. So even though we won’t be sitting down and sharing a meal this weekend, the Market will still have plenty to offer. So come on down and share your love of local food and local farmers this weekend from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on Ocean Drive.

Kyra Wagner is the coordinator of Sustainable Homer and the Homer Farmers Market’s biggest fan.