Dubuque Winter Farmers Market

Dubuque Winter Farmers Market has backing from The City of Dubuque and sets up at Kennedy Mall, giving the market an indoor winter home for Saturday mornings from November through April. Since 2007, it has provided a winter farmers market in Dubuque, with volunteers meeting at the mall at dawn to arrange tables and chairs before vendors arrive. The result is a cold-season market where shoppers can still meet farmers directly while browsing produce, bread, meat, eggs, cheese, honey, and other pantry staples under one roof.

Why it matters locally

Since 2007, the market has given Dubuque a winter outlet for direct farmer-to-shopper sales at a time of year when outdoor markets are off the calendar. Its own description centers that face-to-face exchange: people come here to meet their farmers, and also to meet neighbors and make new acquaintances.

The local support around it is unusually visible. Sponsors include The City of Dubuque, Sustainable Dubuque, and Kennedy Mall, while Four Mounds Foundation serves as fiscal agent and Dubuque County grant programs are also named among supporters. The market also runs a weekly newsletter from November through April with recipes, market news, and vendor features, extending its role beyond the Saturday sales floor.

What you'll find there

Winter shopping here leans practical: storage crops, greens, eggs, meat, bread, preserves, and sweets show up alongside a few specialty stops such as knife sharpening and local wine. The vendor mix also includes several certified organic or organic-practice farms, which stands out in a cold-season market lineup.

• -Pick up jams, granola, pickles, nut butters, breads, cakes, donuts, honey, and maple syrup from Barb’s Garden Pantry.
• -Find sourdough, cinnamon rolls, cookies, and scones at Barony Bakery.
• -Stock up on root vegetables, eggs, cheese, meats, and soaps from Bellman Dairy Farm and Kristi’s Perfect Produce.
• -Browse gluten-free and organic baked goods, herbal teas, dehydrated vegetables, and jams from C & J’s “The Good Stuff” and Granny B’s Gluten Free.
• -Choose hand-painted Belgium chocolates from Chocolate Reflections.
• -Look for Ukranian ferments, vegetables, bread or cookies, and eggs at Forgotten Recipes.
• -Sip or take home coffee grounds from Good Stewards Coffee Co..
• -Bring home certified organic eggs and produce, plus jams, jellies, pickled vegetables, pecans, and cranberries from Hammerand Farm.
• -Shop beef, pork, chicken, and eggs from Hartbecke Cattle Farm.
• -Add microgreens from Healthy Heart Farms.
• -Pick from raw honey, creamed honey, comb honey, beeswax candles, and soap at Johnson Honey Farm.
• -Get dry aged Angus beef with no hormones and no antibiotics from Midwest Best Beef.
• -Buy certified organic beef, pork, and chicken from O’Connell Organic Acres.
• -Grab apples from Orchard Landing.
• -Take home fresh vegetables and herbs grown with organic practices from Phelps Farm.
• -Find hydroponic lettuces, microgreens, freeze-dried fruit and candy, and eggs at Re-evolution Farms.
• -Stop by Paul Opperman for knife and scissors sharpening.

The market also hosts season-specific programming. Its Speaker Series appears during the season, and one December market stayed open until 1pm while adding holiday art and craft vendors for a Holiday Craft Market.

Know before you go

No dogs are allowed, which is the detail most likely to change your plan if you're heading to Kennedy Mall with a pet. The market is inside Kennedy Mall on the northwest corner of the main concourse next to Hibbett’s Sports, so indoor-mall wayfinding matters more here than it would at a street market. Free parking is in the Kennedy Mall lot, with the closest entrances on the northeast and northwest sides of the mall. If you need help before arriving, Danielle Stowell is the market manager and is listed with both phone and email contact.

Payments & SNAP

SNAP/EBT is accepted at the Dubuque Winter Farmers Market. One visitor also noted that shoppers can stop at the information booth to convert a credit card into cash tokens and use SNAP cards for tokens as well. That makes payment options clearer for a market where vendors may not all handle cards the same way.