Sound Bites: Memphis Farmers Market sampling of pork rinds, peas and pepper bacon
One of the first things Inga Theeke did when she moved to Downtown Memphis in 2021 was to find her local farmers market.
“It didn’t take long for (the Memphis Farmers Market) to plant me at the information table as a volunteer,” she said. That was nearly five years ago.
Memphis Farmers Market board president Inga Theeke pictured at a Saturday market. (Courtesy Inga Theeke)
Theeke is the current MFM board president, a three-year veteran of the board and the pastry chef at Felicia Suzanne’s restaurant on South Main Street. She joined me on “Sound Bites” to talk about how Downtown Memphis’ farmers market is doing 20 years in. Watch or listen to the full interview at the bottom of this story.
After the departure of MFM’s executive director, Theeke said she and other board members talked about whether they would “make a go” or “continue to struggle.”
“I decided to jump in with two feet, two hands, everything I have to try to help them out,” she said. The board decided to run the market themselves for the 2026 season.
On the podcast, Theeke talked about the ways the group has worked to grow and sustain MFM from increasing dog-friendliness to bringing in more first-time vendors (94 this year over last year’s 70) to a live music partnership with Sound Main Sounds.
20 years of MFM at Farm Fest
The market will celebrate 20 seasons of local produce, prepared foods and Saturday morning mingling at Farm Fest on Sunday, Sept. 27, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Market vendors and Memphis chefs will partner to prepare food tastings for attendees; Old Dominick and Wiseacre beverages will be available and musician Kennard Farmer will perform.
Tickets are available online and benefit the Memphis Farmers Market.
Inge Theeke is the Memphis Farmers Market board president and a pastry chef at Felicia Suzanne’s restaruant Downtown. (Holly Whitfield/The Daily Memphian)
Pork rinds, peas and pepper bacon
To really take advantage of the video feature on “Sound Bites,” Theeke kindly brought a delicious cornucopia of market loot. Watch for the full effect or just listen as we talk through fresh heirloom tomatoes, spicy sauce, fan-favorite pork rinds and more. Here’s the rundown:
- Ripley Produce heirloom tomatoes
- Mr. C’s Pork Rinds barbecue pork rinds
- Four Lakes Fungi blue oyster mushrooms
- Lazy Dog Farms black pepper cherry-smoked bacon
- Augie & Coco curry bomb
- Lil’ Bit of Country chow chow
- Vue’s Family Farm lady peas
- Tennemo Rice Family Farm and Mill jasmine rice
- South Caribbean Cuisine jerk sauce
- S&T Fiber Arts rooster desk friend
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Topics
Inga Theeke Sound Bites Memphis Farmers Market Felicia Suzanne'sHolly Whitfield
Holly has more than 13 years of experience in publishing and digital content, including 10 years at the helm of the I Love Memphis Blog. She began her career at The Commercial Appeal and is author of Secret Memphis.
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