In the Seacoast and beyond—wherever you find yourself this summer—make a point of finding good, clean, and fair food for yourself and your family. The 2010 Summer Markets page has been updated with all kinds of resources to help you do just that! Farmers’ markets are bigger than ever, in more locations than ever, which is great news for consumers and producers alike. (Local economies reap the benefits, too.)

Rob Gibson and Joe Marquette of Yellow House Farm tell it like it is at the 2009 Slow Food Seacoast Down-on-the-Farm Picnic.

A list of markets managed by the Seacoast Growers Association (SGA) follows, then some other NH markets in the Seacoast area, and finally some resources for finding farmers’ markets in Maine.

Many farmers’ markets (and farmers) have websites, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts, so look for your favorites online! And even if they don’t have their own individual sites or accounts, many farm and market locations are available in online listings. For markets within the broadly defined Seacoast region (encompassing Rockingham, Strafford, and York Counties in New Hampshire and Maine), search the easy-to-use online version of Seacoast Harvest: A Local Food Guide by location, product, or farm name. (Note: Very soon, you will be able to get your own printed copy of new-and-improved 2010 edition of this go-to resource for eating local in the Seacoast at local farmers’ markets and other events.)

If you’re planning to vacation in another region, look up good, clean, and fair food options at your destination by searching Local Harvest, which lists farms and markets nationwide (mostly along the U.S. East Coast). So before you travel this summer, use one of these online tools or do an Internet search on “<town> farmers market” (replacing <town> with your destination) to find the freshest food while you’re on the road or just getting some R&R. Have fun!

Who’s your farmer?

Seacoast SGA Markets Are Open

info via Seacoast Growers Association

All the Seacoast-area farmers’ markets managed by the Seacoast Growers Association (SGA) will be open by the first full week of June.  (Click on location names to read market details on the SGA website.)

In-season update (June 3): asparagus, rhubarb, lettuces, greens, greenhouse cukes and tomatoes (limited), eggs, honey, maple syrup, meats, milk & yogurt, seafood, teas, wine, gourmet prepared foods, and plants of all kinds! (annuals, perennials, hanging flower baskets, herbs, and all kinds of veggie transplants)

Strawberries! (photo courtesy Wake Robin Farm)

Durham

Mondays, 2:15–5:30 pm
7 Mill Road / Durham Marketplace NEW LOCATION!

Hampton

Tuesdays, 3–6 pm
289 Lafayette Road / Route 1, Sacred Heart Church School

Dover

Wednesdays, 2:15–6pm
550 Central Ave. / Dover Chamber of Commerce parking lot NEW LOCATION!

Exeter

Thursdays, 2:15–6pm
Swasey Parkway, off Water Street

Portsmouth

Saturdays, 8 am–1 pm
1 Junkins Ave., City Hall

More NH Markets: A Great Statewide Resource

info courtesy of the NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food Division of Agricultural Development, via NH Farmer’s Markets Association

The NH Farmer’s Markets Association has posted an extensive list of farmers’ markets across New Hampshire! Check out the list below for markets near your home or work, and go to the full list to find the market days in towns you’ll be visiting this summer. Celebrate local farms and food producers across the state, all summer long.

Heritage-breed pigs (photo courtesy New Roots Farm)

Barrington Farmers’ Market

Rt. 9 & 125, across from Calef’s Country Store
Sat., May-Oct., 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Rain or shine.
Vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants, maple, baked goods, meat.
603-749-0377

Farmington Farmers’ Market

Central & Main Sts.
May 1-Oct., Sat., 8:30a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Vegetables, plants, homemade goods, pies, jams, handmade quilts, pillows, hats, mittens, soaps, jewelry, pot holders.
603-859-2551
barrons@worldpath.net

Farmington-Puddledock’s Farmers’ Market

203 NH Rt. 11, Farmington
Sat., June-Sept., 10 a.m.-2 p.m., rain or shine.
Vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants, dairy, maple, baked goods, crafts.
603-335-2252
fromtheheart@metrocast.net

Lee Farmers’ Market

Old Fire Station, Rt. 155
May-Sept., 3-6pm, Thurs.
Vegetables,fruits, flowers & plants, maple, bakery, meat, fish, crafts. Rain or shine.
659-9329
tubadirt@comcast.net

Newmarket Farmers’ Market

The Stone Church, 5 Granite St.
Sat. June 19-Oct. 9, 9a.m.- 1 p.m.; 3rd Sat. of month, Nov.-Mar., 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, flowers, dairy, eggs, preserves, baked goods, coffee, honey, wine, maple syrup, meat, seafood, crafts, music.
603-659-5900

Northwood Farmers’ Market

Jct. Rtes. 4, 43, & 202
May-Nov., 3-6:30p.m., Thurs.
Vegetables, fruits, flowers & plants, dairy, maple, bakery, meat, body care products, goats milk products, jams, jellies, wine,
herbs, honey, eggs, dog treats. Rain or shine.
603-942-8313
northwoodfarmersmarket@yahoo.com

Nottingham Farmers’ Market

Blaisdell Memorial Library
May-Oct., 1-4pm, Sun.
Vegetables, fruit, flowers & plants, dairy, maple, meat, crafts, honey, sauces & salsa. Rain or shine.
603-679-5392
brieghangardner@aol.com

Ossipee Farmers’ Market

Ossipee Main St. Park, Moultonville Rd., Center Ossipee
Sun., June-Sept., 10 a.m.-1 p.m., rain or shine.
Vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants, dairy, maple, baked goods, meat, fish, crafts.
Craft demonstrations, food contest, bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving contest and more.
603-539-7200
director@ossipeemainstreet.org
http://www.ossipeemainstreet.org

Rochester-Downtown Farmers’ Market

Foster’s Daily Democrat parking lot, 90 North Main St.
June-Oct. 28, 3-6 p.m., Tues. & Thurs., rain or shine.
Vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants, baked goods,crafts.
603-332-1765

Rochester-4 Corners Farmers’ Market

4 Corners Antique Shop parking lot, Jct. 202A, Estes Rd. & Meaderboro Rd.
May 8-Oct. 11, Sat. 10am-2pm.
Vegetables, fruit, flowers & plants, bakery, jams, jellies.
603-859-6979
squires@metrocast.net

Rollinsford-Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Market

141 Rollinsford Rd., Rollinsford
June 26-Oct.30, 10am-2pm, Sat.
Vegetables, fruits, flowers & plants, dairy, maple, bakery, meat, fish, crafts, special craft & cooking demonstrations, gardening lectures, workshops.
603-749-4919
kokolis@comcast.net
http://www.wentworthgreenhouses.com

Rye Farmers’ Market

580 Washington Rd.
June-Oct., 2-5p.m., Wed.
Vegetables, fruit, flowers & plants, dairy, maple, bakery, meat, fish, apple pie contest, sandwich contest, seafood throwdown. Rain or shine.
603-379-2007
trit30@comcast.net

Wakefield Farmers’ Market

Corner of Rt. 16 & Wakefield Rd.
May 29-Oct. 9, 9am-3pm, Sat.
Local vegetables, fruits, baked goods, flowers, honey, eggs, meat, plants, wood crafts, fiber goods, jewelry and more!
Demonstrations last Sat. of month. Rain or shine.
603-473-8762
http://www.wakefieldmarketplace.homestead.com

But Wait, There’s More … in Maine

Maine offers its share of farmers’ markets this year, too. The Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets (MFFM) has posted a list of farmers’ markets from the York “Gateway” market to Kennebunk, North Berwick, Portland, Augusta, and beyond! Find your closest market (or where you’ll be on vacation) in the full list of Maine markets online. And here’s what might be a late addition that didn’t make the last website update:

Sanford Farmers’ Market

Gowen Park, Main Street/US Route 109, next to the Sanford Junior High School
Saturdays, 8 am–12 noon
http://www.sanfordfarmersmarket.org/

Resources

• 2010 Summer Markets (Slow Food Seacoast’s guide to opening dates for Seacoast farmers’ markets)
• Seacoast Harvest: A Local Food Guide (a seachable guide to producers in Rockingham, Strafford, and York Counties)
• NH farmers’ markets (NH Dept. of Agriculture list)
• Seacoast Growers Association (Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hampton, and Portsmouth summer markets)
• Maine farmers’ markets
• Local Harvest (nationwide)
• Maine Federation of Farmers’ Markets (MFFM)
  
• NH Farmer’s Markets Association

The first summer farmers’ markets of the season usually feature early spring greens and locally grown plants to decorate your flower beds, create a vegetable garden, and add color to your life after a long winter. Other food and nonfood products will be available, too. Come see what they have to offer.

Farmer Dave's carrots, courtesy Seacoast Eat Local

• May 1 - Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 8 am–1  pm, 1 Junkins Ave., Portsmouth
• May 2 - Newburyport Farmers’ Market, Sundays, 9 am–1 pm, Tannery Marketplace, Newburyport, Mass.
• May 6 - Exeter Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 2:30–6 pm, Swazey Parkway, Exeter
• May 15 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 22 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 27 - Northwood Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 3–6:30 pm, Junction of Route 4 & Route 202A & 43, Northwood
• June 7 - Durham Farmers’ Market, Mondays, 2:15–5:30 pm, Pettee Brook Lane (Pettee Brook parking lot), Durham
• June 8 - Hampton Farmers’ Market, Tuesdays, 3–6 pm, 289 Lafayette Rd/Route 1 (Sacred Heart Church parking lot), Hampton, NH
• June 9 - Dover Farmers’ Market, Wednesdays, 2:15–6:00 pm, corner of Central Ave. and Sixth St. (parking lot of the new Dover Chamber of Commerce), Dover
• June 26 - Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 10 am–2 pm, 141 Rollins Road, Rollinsford (parking lot)

For More Information

Meadow's Mirth turnips, courtesy Seacoast Eat Local

Want to know which vendors are scheduled to be at the market, check a venue address, or get directions? Go straight to the source!

• Newburyport Farmers’ Market
• Newmarket Farmers’ Markets at Stone Church
• Northwood Farmers’ Market
• Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets
• Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Markets (Rollinsford)
• Rye Farmers’ Markets
• Seacoast Growers Association (Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hampton, and Portsmouth)

Follow Slow Food Seacoast on Twitter

WHAT: Spring Farmers’ Market

WHEN: Saturday April 24, 10 am–2 pm

WHERE: Heron Pond Farm, 299 Main Ave, South Hampton (Google Maps is recommended for directions.)

You don’t have to wait for the farmers’ markets to open in May and June!  Heron Pond Farm will be hosting a spring farmers’ market featuring a wide variety of locally grown and made foods on April 24.  You’ll find fresh greens and other spring vegetables, plants for your garden, farm-raised meat and eggs, honey, maple syrup and delicious prepared foods and baked goods!  The market will be held outside the Heron Pond Farm farmstand, which is now open on weekends.  Come check it out!

Vendors

Heron Pond Farm: The farm stand will be open with lots of spring vegetables—fresh greens, cilantro, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips!

Yellow House Farm: Chicken and duck eggs, farm photo cards, feathers.

Moriarty’s Greenhouse: Potted perennials, herbs and houseplants.

Forty-Five Market Street Bakery & Café: Cookies, scones, bread, muffins, pies.

White Heron Tea: Organic tea beverages, organic + fair trade packaged teas, ready-to-eat breakfast and lunch foods.

Kellie Brook Farm: Farm-raised pork, beef, veal, turkey, and chicken; prepared meals made with their own meats.

Harrison’s Poultry: Eggs, maple syrup, honey, chicken and guinea fowl meat, garden baskets, feathers and maple candy.

The Soup Guy: Gluten-free, all-natural soups and chili made with locally grown ingredients.

Eastman’s Local Catch: Sign up for a local fish share! Carolyn Eastman will be there with information about Eastman’s community-supported fishery (CSF).

New Roots Farm: Scallions, greens, and pasture-raised pork, including bacon.

The solution for the climate crisis, the food crisis and the water crisis is the same: biodiversity-based, organic farming systems. —Vandana Shiva

In Resurgence magazine, Vandana Shiva talks about the “water famine” in India that has resulted as a consequence of the Green Revolution—that is, of the switch from traditional farming methods and crops toward chemical agriculture and water-intensive crops. She speaks of falling water levels, disappearing groundwater, widespread drought, and declining soil fertility Issue 259, (March/April 2010).

Shiva’s context is India, but the problem—and the solution—is as global as it is local. Want to know more? Read Water Wisdom on the Resurgence website. Then bring it home by supporting the wise farmers in your community.

(Seacoast Winter Farmers’ Markets continue this Saturday, in Rollinsford! The remaining Seacoast winter markets are listed here.)

It’s less than 2 months until the the first Seacoast Growers Association summer farmers’ market opens in Portsmouth, and the winter farmers’ markets in Newburyport, MA, and Northwood, NH, have finished for the season. But thanks to the efforts of local consumers, craftspeople, food producers—bakers, beekeepers, farmers, ranchers, vintners, and more—and the fabulous local organizations that bring us all together, we in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire are fortunate to have several more winter markets to get us there.

Final Winter Markets

Come check out what the vendors have to offer at the last indoor markets of the season.

• March 13 - Seacoast Eat Local Exeter Winter Farmers’ Market at Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter (GPS users, please use 315 Epping Road)
• March 20 - Rye Farmers’ Market - 10 am to 2 pm at Rye Junior High (note new location!), 501 Washington Road, Rye
• March 20 - Newmarket Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm at the Stone Church, 5 Granite Street, Newmarket
• March 27 - Seacoast Eat Local Rollinsford Winter Farmers’ Market at Wentworth Greenhouses, 141 Rollins Rd., Rollinsford
• April 10 - Seacoast Eat Local Exeter Winter Farmers’ Market at Exeter High School, 1 Blue Hawk Drive, Exeter (GPS users, please use 315 Epping Road)

Spring Markets

• April 17 -Newmarket Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm at the Stone Church, 5 Granite Street, Newmarket
• April 24 - Farmer’s Market at Heron’s Pond Farm, 299 Main Ave, South Hampton

Summer Markets Opening Soon!

The first summer farmers’ markets of the season usually feature early spring greens and locally grown plants to decorate your flower beds, create a vegetable garden, and add color to your life after a long winter. Other food and nonfood products will be available, too. Come see what they have to offer.

• May 1 - Portsmouth Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 8 am–1  pm, 1 Junkins Ave., Portsmouth
• May 2 - Newburyport Farmers’ Market, Sundays, 9 am–1 pm, Tannery Marketplace, Newburyport, Mass.
• May 6 - Exeter Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 2:30–6 pm, Swazey Parkway, Exeter
• May 15 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 22 - Newmarket Plant Sale & Farmers’ Market - 9 am to 1 pm, 5 Granite Street (Stone Church), Newmarket
• May 27 - Northwood Farmers’ Market, Thursdays, 3–6:30 pm, Junction of Route 4 & Route 202A & 43, Northwood
• June 7 - Durham Farmers’ Market, Mondays, 2:15–5:30 pm, Pettee Brook Lane (Pettee Brook parking lot), Durham
• June 8 - Hampton Farmers’ Market, Tuesdays, 3–6 pm, 289 Lafayette Rd/Route 1 (Sacred Heart Church parking lot), Hampton, NH
• June 9 - Dover Farmers’ Market, Wednesdays, 2:15–6:00 pm, corner of Central Ave. and Sixth St. (parking lot of the new Dover Chamber of Commerce), Dover
• June 26 - Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Market, Saturdays, 10 am–2 pm, 141 Rollins Road, Rollinsford (parking lot)

For More Information

Want to know which vendors are scheduled to be at the market, check a venue address, or get directions? Go straight to the source!

• Newburyport Farmers’ Market
• Newmarket Farmers’ Markets at Stone Church
• Northwood Farmers’ Market
• Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets
• Wentworth Greenhouses Farmers’ Markets (Rollinsford)
• Rye Farmers’ Markets
• Seacoast Growers Association (Dover, Durham, Exeter, Hampton, and Portsmouth)

Follow Slow Food Seacoast on Twitter

Via Nada Haddad, Extension Educator, Agricultural Resources, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension:

Growing Your Farm Markets and Profits: Alternatives to Cash Payments

Who should attend this workshop? Growers selling at summer or winter farmers markets, farm stands, PYO operations, or selling through Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs); market coordinators and volunteers; and anyone exploring alternatives to cash payments. Besides growing your farm markets and profits using alternative to cash payments, you will also make food accessible to low-income families and increase nutrition for the well-being of individuals and families.

Sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County, the workshop will be held on Thursday March 18, from 3:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m., at the Rockingham County Nursing Home Auditorium in Brentwood.  The workshop will cover alternatives to cash at farmers’ markets and farmstands. The alternatives include Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons; (WIC and Senior) coupons;  Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food stamps/EBT cards; as well as debit and credit cards.

Speakers:

• Laurie Desmarais (Vendor Manager, Nutrition and Health Promotion Section, NH Department of Health & Human Services)
• Peter Conti (Assistant Director, Field Operations, USDA Food & Nutrition Service, Northeast Region)
• Diane Souther (Grower, Apple Hill Farm, Concord, NH)
• Amy Miller (Farmers Market Coordinator, Lebanon, NH)
• Joel Breton (President, MJM, Associates Merchant Service, Hooksett, NH)
• Nada Haddad (Agriculture Extension Educator, UNH Cooperative Extension, Rockingham County)

No cost; registration is required. Email Deb Stevens or Nada Haddad or call 603-679-5616.

Photo credit: Culinary Delights Farm

From Local Harvest, just in time for CSA/CSF Day at the Wentworth Greenhouses Winter Farmers’ Market in Rollinsford this Saturday, 2/27 (and 12+ other CSA fairs around the region on Sunday, 2/28), comes an informative article entitled How to Choose a CSA.

More resources:

List of all Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets: http://www.seacoasteatlocal.org/winterfarmersmarkets/index.html

Slow Food Seacoast blog post on local 2010 CSA fairs, Feb. 27 and 28: http://www.slowfoodseacoast.org/category/blog/2010/02/csa-csf-days-for-2010/

Read the full story on the Seacoast Eat Local blog.

Summer CSA harvest

Seacoast Eat Local is sponsoring yet another great event to connect consumers and food producers in the Seacoast! They’ve planned a community-supported agriculture (CSA) and community-supported fisheries (CSF) event to coincide with the Winter Farmers’ Market to be held at Wentworth Greenhouses (141 Rollins Rd, Rollinsford, NH—a mile past Red’s Shoe Barn on Broadway in Dover), on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 10 am to 2 pm. (Similar events will take place at 12 locations in Maine and in Newburyport, Mass., on Sunday, Feb. 28.)

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about CSA and CSF, keep reading … then attend the event that’s local to you. Learn, ask questions, meet 15 participating farms and fisheries, make connections, and maybe sign up for your own 2010 share.

Learn more: Download the Choosing a CSA flyer (PDF) from Seacoast Eat Local.

Learn more: Read a comprehensive list of CSA farms in Rockingham, Strafford, and York Counties in Seacoast Harvest: A Local Food Guide.

Learn more: Get dates, times, and directions for all of the Seacoast Eat Local Winter Farmers’ Markets.

From a Seacoast Eat Local press release:

Seacoast CSA + CSF Day Coming to Winter Farmers’ Market

Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, is a partnership between consumers and farmers in which members buy shares of the farm’s harvest and receive regular allotments of food throughout the growing season. For farmers, this provides much needed cash flow for the beginning of the season, as well as a ready market and community of supporters. Shareholders join in the risks of the growing season but reap the benefits of the harvest.

Community Supported Fisheries, or CSFs (modeled after CSAs), are a way to buy seafood directly from fishermen and support our local fisheries by purchasing seasonal shares.

Each CSA and CSF has its own pricing structure and distribution schedule, and some farms have work requirements. Signups for CSA and CSF shares often begin in February by directly contacting the farm or sponsoring fishery.

Participating Farms & Fisheries:

Brookford Farm
Connolly’s Organics
Eastman’s Local Catch
Farmer Dave’s CSA
Heron Pond Farm
Meadow’s Mirth
New Roots Farm
Riverside Farm
Riverslea Farm
Stone Wall Farm / Osprey Cove Organic Farm
Touching Earth Farm
Two Toad Farm
Wake Robin Farm
Willow Pond Community Farm
Wolf Pine Farm CSA

Take a virtual tour of a Seacoast Winter Farmers’ Market in this story from Seacoast Online!

For some of us, the farmers’ market is the social event of the week … or fortnight, or month, as the case may be. So come to EXETER tomorrow (2/13) and ROLLINSFORD in 2 weeks  (2/27—also community-supported agriculture [CSA] day at the market) to get your goodies! See the full market calendar on the Seacoast Eat Local website.

Other markets will be held next Saturday (2/20) in RYE (info on Local Harvest) and NEWMARKET (info on Local Harvest).

See you at the market!