Anna Hearst Launches 2-Hour Tuesday Market in De Soto for 8-10 Local Vendors

Q: Why is a local decor shop owner sacrificing profit to fix a mid-week fresh food gap in De Soto?

Anna Hearst is doing it to solve a practical access problem for De Soto residents: the town’s established farmers market runs only on Saturday mornings, leaving people who work weekends or miss that window without another easy chance to buy fresh local food. Hearst, who owns Madd Heifer on Main Street, said The Madd Market is being organized as a community service rather than a money-making venture. By shifting her store’s Tuesday hours and using the Arlington Event Center patio, she is creating a second weekly outlet for local produce, meat, flowers and baked goods from area vendors. The goal is to complement, not compete with, the Saturday De Soto Farmers Market operated by Get Healthy De Soto. The move also fits a broader local emphasis on healthy eating and community access to local food. Get Healthy De Soto’s work around the Saturday market highlights those same priorities, and Hearst’s Tuesday market helps fill the mid-week gap in that system. In practical terms, her “sacrifice” is time, store operations and potential profit in exchange for a public benefit: more convenient food access, more exposure for local growers and bakers, and a stronger local-market culture downtown. The market’s seasonal, food-only format — without crafts — keeps it focused on fresh groceries and farm products, which directly addresses the gap she is trying to fix.

1 articles · Updated · Leader Publications · Aug 3

The Madd Market will debut Tuesday in De Soto, running from 5-7 p.m. on the Arlington Event Center patio next to Hearst’s Madd Heifer store on Main Street.
Hearst said the new market is meant to give residents another chance to buy local produce if they miss the Saturday De Soto Farmers Market, especially 9-to-5 workers after a local produce stand closed earlier this year.
Eight to 10 vendors are expected each week, selling produce, meat, flowers and baked goods; Hearst said the market will not include crafts and will follow the same May-to-late-October season as the Saturday market.
Regular vendors are expected to include Julie’s Produce, Pierce Century Farm and Chapel House Farm, with Hearst also seeking a melon seller from Missouri’s Bootheel.