Hopefully you had a chance to get a bowl of soup and try one of the many dishes at the Farmers Market Harvest Party Potluck last weekend. It always feels like the end of the market season.

But it’s not really.

The thing is, this time of the year is often still quite abundant for farms around here. Even though the info booth with all the Farmers Market T-shirts will be gone, the kids’ activities, music, and porta potties will all be gone, food is still growing.

So even though the days are growing shorter rapidly, don’t make the assumption that you no longer have access to fresh, local vegetables. There still will be people showing up at the normal Farmers Market times selling their veggies through the month of October.

For example, Dave Skaliski wants to make sure that everybody knows that even though he is out of corn, he still has celery, tomatoes and potatoes that will be coming for a while. And he won’t be the only one. Just looking at the abundance last Saturday, you know that there will be plenty this Saturday.

And don’t forget all the other ways to tap into local food. Many of the same farmers you see at the Farmers Market also sell on the Alaska Food Hub, our local online Farmers Market. The Food Hub will be up and running into November.

There are several farmers who use their own Facebook pages or web pages to make sales directly to customers as well. Make sure to do a search for your favorite farmer. And there are always drive-up options like the Oceanside Farm booth out East End Road or the open hours at Synergy Gardens every Thursday and Friday afternoon in October from 1-6 p.m.

And don’t forget to make your usual pass down Ocean Drive and check out what farmers are hanging out on Saturdays and Wednesdays. The point is, don’t give up on getting fresh and local, but don’t take it for granted either. It is October, after all.

A huge thank you to all of you for supporting our local farmers during the Farmers Market’s 20th anniversary year.

Kyra Wagner is the coordinator of Sustainable Homer and the Homer Farmers Market’s biggest fan.