Meet Emily Scifers

If you spend much time in Cape Girardeau, you've probably seen Emily Scifers selling organic vegetables at the Cape Riverfront Market or delivering them around town through her community supported agriculture business, Laughing Stalk Farmstead. She grew up reading her mother's gardening magazines, and as an adult, she began working on and managing organic vegetable farms. When her husband, Ross Peterson, suggested they start their own farm, the couple moved back to her native Missouri and started farming on about three acres north of Cape Girardeau.

But something was missing.

"When we moved here, we missed selling at a weekend market," says Emily. "I love the downtown and thought it was the perfect place for a Saturday market. I discovered Old Town Cape and contacted Marla Mills [director of Old Town Cape] about starting a market downtown. We met a couple of times and she put me in touch with Levi Olson, who had contacted her around the same time about starting a market. From there we formed a committee of amazing people who wanted to help out. It took over a year of meeting and organizing to get the market on its way."

Now in its third year, the Riverfront Market is open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays from from May through October. It's held in the parkting lot at 35 S. Spanish St. in downtown Cape Girardeau, across from Bel-Air Grill and Grass Roots BMW. Emily is also active in the Cape Marketeers Club, a project of the Riverfront Market that gets kids involved in gardening, farming and healthy eating.

Here's what else you need to know about Emily Scifers:

What is your most treasured possession?

Artwork created and given to me by my friends.

What's the last good book you read?

I joined a book club a few months ago. Of the books we've read, "Secret History" by Donna Tartt has been my favorite.  

How do you like to spend a day off?

In the cooler months, I like to go on a hike at Trail of Tears. During summer I like to hang out on the river or sometimes we will go to a farm auction.  

What style or beauty tips do you swear by?

I swear by sleep, salt/seaweed baths and honey masks.  

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would make by bones rubber so I could farm forever!

What's one thing you'd like to learn?

I would like to learn more languages. 

Never...

... plant sweet potatoes in 90-degree weather without irrigation! 

Always...

... finish what you start. I say this when I look at a pile of unfinished books, craft projects and rows of unweeded vegetables. 

What makes a good friend?

Someone you can laugh with, ask questions, who listens, inspires you to be a better person and tells you when you have spinach in your teeth. 

What talent would you most like to have?

I'd like to be better at public speaking.  

What's the best advice you've ever received?

Someone recently said a little self-reflection goes a long way. I've caught myself thinking about that lately. When I was a kid, my dad told me to not eat yellow snow -- that's pretty good advice, too!

If you wrote an autobiography, what would you call it? 

"Read It and Weed"