Every Saturday morning on the corner of University Place and Oak Avenue, white tents flutter in the wind as folk music floats through the surrounding area. The Evanston Farmers’ Market is a weekly delight, presenting a festival of fresh organic produce, creamy milks, savory cheese and hearty bread.

The market, which has been around for almost 30 years, is open from 7:30 am to 1 pm every Saturday until November 7. More than 30 vendors sell the fruits of their labor there, bringing a variety of products to their tables; you can find produce and dairy as well as fresh flowers and baked goods. Everything is 100 percent organic and ethically made.

Evanston actually has one of the city’s more vendor-friendly farmers’ markets. Chad Proctor, owner of Lake Breeze Organics, experienced difficulty when he attended the Green City Market where all the vendors are not necessarily organic.

“I’d say only 15 to 20 percent of the people there are organic, and the consumers are under the impression that everyone’s organic there. So we would get lost in the shuffle, and people wouldn’t purchase from us because our prices might be a little higher than a factory farm. You can’t compete against that if people think that they’re organic too. This market has a more educated consumer, so we get to know our customers here a little better, and they understand the different levels of working in it, too,” Proctor says.

The farmers at Evanston’s market make sure the process of creating their products does not harm the earth. In fact, some vendors actively help the environment. According to Rick Hoskem of the River Valley Ranch, their mushrooms grow in a combination of horse manure, chicken manure, waste from distiller’s grain and drywalls. As the mushrooms grow, the combination of different wastes turn into nutrient rich soil — perfect for gardens.

“The mushrooms have eaten all of this stuff that was bad or toxic in the soil and given you back nothing but nutrients for your garden. So we sell a lot of that to customers who then use it in their garden. So the whole cycle of when it comes through the door till it comes back out the door, it’s completely being recycled all the way through,” Hoskem says.

Evanston resident Sarah Begor appreciates the nutritional benefits gained from buying and eating products at the farmers’ market and makes it a point to get certain items there.

“I try to make a list, and then I buy other things that I see. So, today I’ve got things to make a beef stew — so fresh herbs, onions, some pears and apples to make a tart, eggplant, flowers occasionally, fresh fruit; always fresh fruit… I really like the vendors; it’s nice to have a smile when you buy your food,” Begor says.

Chain entities such as Whole Foods cannot ensure quality, freshness and a stable green environment with their organic products like farmers’ markets can. Though the pricing of the produce is comparable, farmers’ markets are better for your health, the environment and the local economy. Chad Proctor of Lake Breeze Organics says that organic food sold at the farmers’ market is fresh, pure and goes directly to the consumers.

“You don’t need to ship across the country or halfway around the world to get the products from New Zealand or Australia. If they’re organically grown they’re substantially better for the soil, for everybody. It’s a win-win situation for the people who buy the organic products,” says Proctor. “The consumer is so oriented to the Wal-Mart approach where they buy it for cheap. They don’t really realize they’re missing out on some terrific flavors that you’ll get buying heirloom, organic type products.”

Whole Foods does sell organic produce and products; however, the level of freshness just doesn’t match up to the farmers’ market. The apples at the farmer’s market shine with their flawless colored peel while the apples at Whole Foods tend to have bruises. Enormous, glistening and vividly purple red onions dominate the smaller, dull ones at Whole Foods. Just looking at the food, it’s easy to see which produce is fresher.

“I do go to Whole Foods sometimes, but what I really like about coming to the farmers’ market is that I like the idea of eating locally. Also, the stuff here is generally just more fresh, versus being in the case and being sprayed every couple of seconds with water to make it look fresh. Here, it actually is fresh,” Weinberg senior Liz Och says.

This Saturday, treat yourself, the environment and the local economy to some organic treats. Make sure to stop by the organic milk booth — they give free pints of milk to “starving” Northwestern students. Saturday is the last day that the farmers’ market will be open until May 16, so make sure to wake up just a little earlier and take in the splendor of the outdoor market.