During my years at Extension, one of my (self-proclaimed) missions was to support local farms and producers and to promote consumer-access to, education about, and appreciation for local, fresh, sustainably produced foods and products, while also working to develop farmers’ markets as vibrant gathering places within local communities. That mission continues.
The Hamilton Healthy Food Connections program, offering financial assistance for fresh foods at local farmers markets, is returning in 2021.
“We see this as an extension of that neighbor who sneaks onto your porch and leaves you a couple of whatever they’re growing,” says Ben Strader, Director of the Blue Mountain Center. “It’s local food and local people, sharing.”
In 2020, Hamilton Healthy Food Connections program began with funding from the Adirondack Foundation’s Sudden and Urgent Needs Fund – a Covid-19 relief fund dedicated to meeting immediate, pandemic-related needs here in the Adirondacks. The program, organized by Blue Mountain Center’s Hamilton Helps Project and the Indian Lake Community Development Corporation (ILCDC), was intended to help Hamilton County residents access fresh and healthy food at nearby farmers markets. It offered $20 “farmers market certificates” redeemable for any fresh produce or meat at Hamilton County farmers markets.
Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Essex County is hosting free activities for children at the Lake Placid and Saranac Lake farmers’ markets through the season. The program is called the Power of Produce (POP) Club and aims to get kids excited about fresh, local fruits and vegetables, local food systems, and science topics related to agriculture through a series of fun activities.
Each week at the Lake Placid and Saranac Lake Farmers’ Markets, Essex County CCE volunteers will be offering kids an opportunity to taste a locally grown fruit or vegetable, participate in an activity, and receive $5 to choose a fruit or vegetable to purchase.
Adirondack Harvest has added a COVID-19 resources page to its website, to make it easier to people to support area farms and businesses and continue to source locally produced foods. The page can be found here.
Here are a few highlights:
Delivery and pick-up options for local food and groceries.
Many regional CSA’s will begin soon. When you participate in a CSA, you will pay for a season’s worth of fresh food for a farmer, who will then coordinate pick-up or delivery to you weekly. To find a CSA near you, click here.
Farmstores are still open as well and taking care to keep their products available and safe for the public. Browse regional farmstands and farmstores. Click here to view a map of regional farmstands and farmstores.
A list of Take-out and Delivery options has also been compiled by the Adirondack Almanack.
Many events and social gatherings have been canceled or postponed, but market organizers have updated protocol in some cases to provide a safer experience. The Saranac Lake Farmers’ Park-it is still open and offering curbside pick-up. You can order ahead online here.
Pictured here: Blue Pepper Farm in Jay. Photo courtesy of Lisa Godfrey.
Thinking fast on your feet comes with the territory of being a small business owner/farmer. So the folks behind the Saranac Lake Farmers Market were able to quickly pivot into a format that allows for social distancing and ensures customers have access to fresh, locally made food.
The “Farmers’ Park-it” takes place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays at the Hotel Saranac. Shoppers place their orders using this form by 9 p.m. Thursday night and drive up during the market hours for curbside delivery.
More info and order form: https://tinyurl.com/FarmersParkIt.
The AuSable Valley Grange Farmers’ Market, a producer-only farmers’ market, has partnered once again with Hotel Saranac for its annual harvest market in Saranac Lake. At producer-only markets, vendors can sell only items that they or their employees produce. Vendors cannot buy in bulk and then resell to you.
This year, the market will extend through the winter season with the goal of establishing a year-round farmers’ market. » Continue Reading.
The Warrensburgh Riverfront Farmers’ Market is set to hold their annual Bountiful Harvest Festival this Friday, August 16 from 3 to 6 pm, featuring locally grown, raised and prepared foods and sampling from recipes available for simple dishes using the bounty of the market. » Continue Reading.
Farmers Markets (marketplaces where people gather to buy and trade goods and services, exchange news, and share stories with one another) can be traced back 5000-years, to Egyptian villages and towns along the Nile.
They have deep roots in American history too; enduring as a part of our society, business, and trade since 1634, when the first Farmers’ Market in the ‘New World’ opened for business in Boston, Massachusetts. Throughout much of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, outdoor marketplaces remained vital centers of commerce in both American cities and rural communities. » Continue Reading.
The fourth annual Southern Adirondack Local Food & Craft Beverage Festival at the Warrensburgh Riverfront Farmers’ Market will be held Friday, June 21st from 3 to 6 pm. Warrensburgh Beautification Inc., in partnership with the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce, will be offering samplings of locally grown and prepared foods by area restaurants and farms to compliment tastings of wine, beer and spirits. » Continue Reading.
The AuSable Valley Grange producer-only Farmers’ Markets feature fresh no-spray vegetables and herbs; farmstead goat cheese; fresh apples and pears; artisanal cheese and fresh yogurt from grass-fed cows; free-range chicken and egg; grass-fed beef and pork; fresh-baked breads and pastries; ready-to-eat soups, snacks, and beverages; maple syrup; hand-carved bowls and utensils; artwork and crafts. » Continue Reading.
The AuSable Valley Grange Farmers’ Market, a producer-only farmers’ markets in the eastern Adirondacks, has partnered with Hotel Saranac for its annual fall market in Saranac Lake.
The market will be held every Saturday at Hotel Saranac from October 20 to December 22 from 10 am to 2 pm (with the exception of Saturday, November 24, following Thanksgiving). » Continue Reading.
An Adirondack Riverfront Arts Festival will take place Friday, July 27 from 3 to 6 pm at the Warrensburgh Riverfront Farmers’ Market, down by the river on State Route 418.
There will be demonstrations and sales of “Made in the Adirondacks” hand-crafted work. Demonstrations will include blacksmithing, rustic furniture building, paper bead making, basketry, jewelry design, spinning, painting, and more. » Continue Reading.
Farmers’ markets have existed as a part of American society, business, and trade since 1634, when the first farmers’ market in the new world opened for business in Boston, Massachusetts. And throughout much of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, outdoor market places were vital centers of commerce in both American cities and rural communities.
The Central Market, in Lancaster Pennsylvania, has been held in the same location since 1730. George Washington wrote about sending his kitchen staff to shop at Philadelphia’s outdoor market during the 1790s. And Thomas Jefferson wrote, in 1806, about buying beef, eggs and vegetables at an outdoor market in Georgetown. » Continue Reading.
A group of Johnsburg residents is working to bring the North Creek Farmers Market back this summer season. The market is set to be held Thursdays from 2 to 6 pm at Riverfront Park in North Creek, from June 21 through September 27, then on Columbus Day Weekend. It will be under and around the northern pavilion in Riverfront Park which is adjacent to the Depot Museum and train station. » Continue Reading.
Westport’s Visitors Center, located on the town’s Main Street, continues to reshape and evolve as a year-round community center with space for exercise classes, parties and meetings. In addition to being a place to connect with local history, the Westport Heritage House is sharing art, music, and a local market.
According to Westport Heritage House marketing consultant Nicolas Faragan, the Westport Heritage House hosts its Indoor Country Market the first Saturday of each month. With a variety of vendors, the 10 am to 1 pm local market features farm fresh veggies, meat, artisan bread as well as crafts and handmade gifts. The next scheduled market dates are April 7 and May 5. » Continue Reading.
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