Stay Local

The smell of hot cider drifts from the doorway of an old hotel. I am excited and it is obvious I am not alone. This group of early risers walks toward the aroma, aware that beyond the door a taste of nature’s bounty waits. I was visiting a winter farmers market held in the very quaint Elmendorph Hotel in Red Hook, New York. Organized by the Hearty Roots Community Farm, the Red Hook Winters Farmers Market is one of many winter markets looking to provide local food to customers year round.

The winter markets are a great cure for cabin fever and the old stagecoach-style hotel was crowded with shoppers seeking out fresh produce, meat, dairy, and baked goods. It is clear that for both farmers and shoppers this market was also an opportunity to get out of the house and check in on the community.

The Red Hook Winter market is one recent development among many, as keeping markets open year round catches on from Maine to Hawaii. In New York State nearly 50 markets are responding to consumer demands and staying open thru winter. While the Council on the Environment of New York City, (CENYC) has long held winter markets as part of their Greenmarket program, only now is the community noticeably taking advantage.

Diane Eggert, Executive Director of the Farmers’ Market Federation of New York, said, “Farmers’ markets have experienced a growth in consumer interest over the last few years as more consumers search for sources of fresh, locally grown foods. Demand does not end when the typical growing season ends in the fall. Farmers are able to extend their seasons with a variety of products with both storage crops and fresh harvested crops throughout the winter. It was a natural evolution that farmers’ markets would begin to find ways to satisfy their customers’ needs for fresh, local foods all year long.“

What do they sell?

For many people farmers markets in general are a novelty. In a society increasingly removed from food production and distribution, it comes as no surprise that farmer’s markets open in February confuse people. “Where do they get the food,” one may wonder. Bob Lewis, a state agriculture official and a co-founder of Greenmarket in 1976 said “When we started, it was almost entirely fresh produce and maybe a little apple cider,” Mr. Lewis said. “It was maybe 100 items. Now it’s 1,000 items.”

Products such as the potatoes, apples, and the ubiquitous root vegetables are harvested before the winter months and held in cold storage cellars. Greenhouses provide a warm, controlled environment for other crops, making delicate products available all year long. Protected from the elements by greenhouses, freshly harvested salad green mix, pea shoots, and several varieties of fresh radishes are increasingly available. Other year round staples include eggs, cheese, grass-fed and pastured meats or milk, local honey, canned and pickled products, jams and juices.

What’s is so great about local produce?

Market support is stronger then it has been in years and locally grown produce has substantial appeal today. CENYC’s top ten reasons to buy local food include taste, personal health, and community, but also cites more pressing concerns such as food safety, genetic diversity, and responsibility for the environment and wildlife. With recent E. coli and salmonella scares and food costs for conventional products on the rise, the farmers market becomes increasingly attractive. Some products are organic and chemical-free. These days, however, emphasis is placed on products that are grown, raised, and finally processed from within a small radius surrounding the market. NYC Greenmarkets and Community Markets, a farmer’s market management company running out of Ossining, New York, enforce rigorous grow-your-own standards. Both require all vendors to sell only what they produce, ensuring that all foods sold at market originate on small farms located within a half-day’s drive from New York City and that your big apple did in fact come from within the New York State growing region.

Experience your local winter farmers market.

On a recent crisp Saturday morning, the sun was out with the chill and the Grand Army Plaza market in Brooklyn was buzzing with activity. A real sense of camaraderie develops as patrons come and go, voting with their wallets, choosing to support local farmers as well as satisfying their more self-serving desires – because the grass-fed milk from Milk Thistle Farm is the best milk they’ve ever had. For some, buying food from a farm only three hours north is an added incentive, for others it is the main point. Even on the coldest days, people are willing to shop outdoors for the opportunity.

Ask any vendor about winter markets and they will tell you what a difference (in temperature) a winter’s day can make. Cold temperatures and long work days can be challenging for farmer and shopper alike. Weather is the main reason market season has traditionally run from Mother’s day to Thanksgiving, though as demand increases, finding indoor locations for year-round markets, using local vendors, becomes a priority. Brooklyn Flea, which is known more for crafts but also sells delicious, small batch, artisanal food items has moved their Saturday market indoors to One Hanson in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. On Sundays, Community Markets and the Makers Market showcase food and craft inside the Old Can Factory in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  Greenmarket NYC  and other vendors still set up outside, braving cold winds, setting up tents and tables displaying goods to you and the elements, citywide.

Winter weather not withstanding, according to a report by the Farmers Market Coalition, a New York-based, not-for-profit organization, it seems America is interested. The number of Farmers markets has more than doubled across the country since 2004.  Winter is a good time for hibernating introspection and reevaluation, but it does not have to be a time for subsisting on what you have in the freezer and cupboards. Check out your local winters farmers market this weekend and remember fresh locally grown and produced foods are available in winter too.