The Pilsen Community Market has been a Community and food advocate for twelve years in order to educate in better options for food sources and sustainability. The PCM came to form as a community market first, looking to connect local artisans, farmers and makers to their local consumers, as well as a meeting place for the community to come together. PCM is comprised of an entirely minority board. 

Pilsen Community Market
Saturday, November 8, 2020

PCM will enforce social distancing through floor markers measuring 6ft distancing from person to person. These markets will allow standing, browsing and shopping in place, as well as forward motion in one direction. It will be a one way path with an entrance and exit.

Multi- vendor booth for Essential Products Curbside pick- up with GOPPAI Mercadito 

We are so excited about our new vendor assisted program we are trying out! We are hiring people to work a multi-vendor booth, so that we can accommodate more vendors as well as share the person/s managing both and vending. This is something we are trying out as a response to keeping our customers safe, above all, and to help promote local, small, and independent vendors that fit our mission and that otherwise may not be able to participate in our market due to personnel issues.

We are testing this out so we are feeling it as we go. At this point, we are asking for $100 for participating; this includes the cost of the participating, space for one table (byo-table) and personnel. Each additional table/space will be $20.

This is how it works:

  1. Vendors participating drops off product, price list, money box,  instructions, card processor, all pertinent and necessary equipment to vend, table/s and pays fee at 8am.
  2. The staff member will set-up, break down, and manage the booth, products, money, and tend to customers throughout the event.
  3. Participating vendors return at 3:00 pm to pick up your belongings, and settle with staff member the outcomes of the event.

Equally existing; CURBSIDE PICK UP AND MERCADITO BY GOPPAI! This a complete digital platform that will allow us to augment our reach exponentially! Equally existing; CURBSIDE PICKUP AND LA TIENDITA BY GOPPAI! This is a complete digital platform that will allow us to augment our reach exponentially! This will make it possible to showcase and sell your products before, during and after market…really anytime! As well as offer pick-up curbside at the market or even same day delivery! All this from the convenience of an app.

GOPPAI is a multifunctional Latino platform that allows users to easily transport, shop, buy and sell goods and services in an effort to boost the local economy in the post COVID-19 era.

We will send another separate message soon regarding an upcoming opportunity to an e-meeting we have coming up.  In the meeting we will discuss special grants and resources available to you as independent vendors.  up for discussion will also be the winter market and any other way we can help you get by these tough times.

For more information regarding any of these programs or to enroll, send us a message as soon as possible!

​Thinking of you always,
​Team PCM

Benefits of supporting Local Farmer's Market

  1. Fresh, local foods. The fruits and vegetables are picked at the peak of their growing season, meaning this produce is the freshest and the tastiest available.
  2. A wider variety. Farmers markets can offer a lot of variety, vastly different even from what you see in the grocery store. Take a chance and try a new fruit or vegetable!
  3. Seasonal treats. By shopping at farmers markets, you get to find the truest flavors of the season and connect with the growing season where you live. Enjoy fresh asparagus, spinach, and strawberries in the spring, indulge in fresh peaches and apricots in the summer, and cook with fresh pumpkins and apples for some amazing fall flavors!
  4. It’s good for your health. Produce and foods found in farmers markets are minimally processed and often grown without using pesticides, antibiotics, or genetic modification. Nourish yourself with nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables!
Source: My Health Matters

From Parra Farms ​to your table

Art for soul, teas for the belly!

Herbal teas—commonly known as tisanes in Europe—have been used by various cultures around the globe for thousands of years. Our early ancestors used a myriad of herbs, flowers, berries, roots, and barks to create aromatic elixirs, many of which they believed could be used for medicinal purposes.

Although “tea” is in the name, it’s important to note that herbal teas are not derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, which is harvested to produce black, oolong, green, and white teas. Unlike these “true” teas, herbal teas usually do not contain caffeine. Additionally, the flavors, aromas, and healing properties of herbal tea can vary greatly depending on the exact ingredients used.

Adding an herbal tea to your daily routine is a wonderful way to support your overall wellness.
Source: The Republic of Tea

NATURAL SOAPS
3 reasons to use them

  1. Natural soap won’t dry out your skin or cause any other skin irritation as all of the ingredients are gentle and skin safe.
  2. Natural soap doesn’t contain any synthetic ingredients, which can be absorbed by the skin (the body’s largest organ) and sometimes get into the bloodstream causing problems.
  3. Natural soap is often more subtle scented in a refreshing way.

Source: Dr. Squatch

Pilsen Community Market: A Celebration of Diversity Where Community Thrives

By Franky
In 2020, Pilsen Community Market is celebrating its 12th anniversary. It was founded at Pilsen, a neighborhood that has become a historical landmark since it has been a port of entry for a rich diversity of immigrants. At the downing of the 20th Century, Pilsen was inhabited by Czechs, Poles, Germans, Albanians, among other immigrants from Eastern Europe, yet due to a transformation of immigration patterns to the United States, it turned into one of the most representative Mexican neighborhoods of the Midwest since the 1960s. Assuming an identity marked by color and murals that transformed the landscape, Mexicans started settling in as Europeans moved out to the suburbs. It is said that Pilsen was constructed by the Czechs and painted by the Mexicans. Not long ago, Pilsen was deemed one of “The 12 Coolest Neighborhoods Around the World” by Forbes and Time-Out magazines. The source of its coolness emerges from a cultural Renaissance that is being experienced on its streets, theatres, galleries, restaurants, trendy bars, and at its National Museum of Mexican Art, all of it, expression of an innovative immigrant culture.
 
Pilsen Community Market represents a microcosm of the neighborhood as a whole. At the same time, it is one of the only two farmers markets in Chicago that operates as a non-for profit organization. Here, art creators, virtuous cooks, hardworking farmers, agricultural laborers and beekeepers sell the product of their work. Nonetheless, El Mercadito has gone further than being a place to buy organic products, food, and art crafts. It fosters a much broader social impact by 1) easing the access to healthy and sustainable food; 2) promoting culinary arts and culture; and 3) conducting nutrition, health and art workshops.
 
Out of the 10 or so weekly participants, 80% are women. The majority are Latinas proposing an alternative economic model to their household economy. Two wonderful examples of success are embodied by Marcelina Hernández, chef and owner of Yvolina’s Tamales and by María Parra, agricultural worker and owner of Parra Family Farms. Besides her perseverant spirit and unique seasoning and recipes, Marcelina offers vegan options cooked with organic products, which is her signature. On her behalf, María is one of those strong and determined women who loves working with the soil and under the sun. Most of her life, she worked on the fields, but later she involved herself into trading her products. At different points in time, they both approached El Mercadito and from a couple of sales carts their businesses became achieving enterprises. Marcelina became the most widely recognized Tamal Lady in town appearing in prestigious publications. Today, besides being a member of the Pilsen Community Market, she has her own restaurant. María decided to acquire her own produce business and launched a line of organic products.
 
One could say that El Mercadito equals the sum of its parts: a business incubator, a space for artistic expression, and a promotor of health, food sustainability, and education. However, the Pilsen Community Market is much more than that. It is a place that opens its doors for community to come together and celebrate diversity in all senses of the word.
Franky is a cultural advocate, a transgender activist and a writer. She co-founded literary magazines in Chicago, such as Fe de erratas, contratiempo and El BeiSMan. As an organizer, Piña has promoted Pilsen Fest, an annual celebration of arts and culture. Lately she has been involved with promoting experimental writing spaces and means to exhibit and support the work of women in the arts, culture and politics.

​Westside Bee Boyz, LLC

Thad J. Smith

Atzimba Catering

Chef Atzimba

Maia Salsa

Chef Juan Carlos Macías

Thomas Barreto Cullen

Vivian Garcia
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