Freshly picked vegetables and fruits, homemade baked goods, locally prepared, pickled, brewed and smoked goods — all this and more — are on sale at the local farmers’ market. Stop in and select from the finest, the freshest and the best local produce and prepared foods that money can buy.
You can meet and visit with the growers, ask questions and get closer to the sources of locally grown and prepared wholesome, nutritious food. Customers can be confident and feel good about buying home grown food from their neighbors. It’s fun to talk to the folks that grow it. And producers appreciate feedback from their customers. When you shop at the farmers’ market, everybody wins.
In an age of global markets, it is all too easy to see how local towns and communities can easily lose touch with the efforts and the productivity of our area farmers and growers. Shopping at the farmers’ market says you support local growers and support the productive use of our land and water, as well. By shopping at the farmers’ market you help support the preservation of agricultural land and the knowledge of our agricultural heritage for future generations. What’s more, when you shop at the farmers’ market, you help strengthen our rural economy. Besides, locally grown and prepared foods tastes better and are more nutritious than fruits and vegetables that are picked before they’re ripe and then transported across the continent or halfway around the world.
The tradition of farmers’ markets can be traced back to ancient times. Farmers’ markets were the centers of villages and towns. They were not only places where people gathered to buy, barter and trade goods and services, but places where people met to exchange news and share stories with one another, as well. Many parts of the world have a tradition of farmers’ markets going back many centuries.
In much the same way, farmers’ markets have deep roots in our nation’s history. In 1806, Thomas Jefferson wrote about buying beef, eggs and vegetables at an outdoor market. Throughout much of the 19th century, outdoor market places were the heart of our American cities, and the farmers’ markets were the centers of commerce in rural communities. But as the country grew, everything changed. More and better roads were built nationwide, and more modern methods of refrigeration were invented and applied. It became possible to transport produce from large commercial farms to centers hundreds, even thousands of miles away. Wholesalers took advantage of opportunities to place fruit and vegetables produced by large commercial and corporate growers into neighborhood supermarkets owned by even larger corporations. The small farmer was unable to compete.
But, in recent decades, farmers’ markets have been making a comeback. Today, Americans spend well over a billion dollars annually at more than 2,500 farmers’ markets nationwide.
Your local farmers’ market is a place where people can come together, not just to buy and sell food, but to share gardening tips and ideas, recipes and seasonal information, as well. Shopping at the farmers’ market can be a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The customer gets the freshest, highest quality food possible, and the grower makes some money. There are no middlemen and no stockholders, just local, independent growers selling their own produce direct to the public.
Support your local farmers’ market.
Chateaugay Lake Farmers’ Market
Hollywood Inn Restaurant Lawn
Merrill, NY 12922
Market Manager: Jo Ellen Saumier
(518) 497-6038
Saturdays 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
June 21 – Aug. 30
Elizabethtown Farmers’ Market
Behind Adirondack Center Museum
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
Market Manager: Gina Agoney
(518) 293-7877
Fridays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
May 16 – Oct. 10
Keene Farmers’ Market
Route 73 at Marcy Airfield
Keene, NY 12944
Market Manager: Dick Crawford
(518) 561-7167
Sundays 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.
June 8 – Oct. 12
Lake Placid Farmers’ Market
Lake Placid Center for the Arts
Saranac Avenue
Lake Placid, NY 12946
Market Manager: Sam Hendren
(518) 834-7306.
Wednesdays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
June 11 – October 15
Malone Farmers’ Market
Route 11 at Malone Airport
Malone, NY 12953
Market Manager: Vicky Lesniak
(518) 497-0083
Wednesdays Noon – 4:30 p.m.
June 4 – Oct. 8
Paul Smiths Market
Paul Smith’s College
Market Manager: Ellen Beeberman
(518) 891-7470
Fridays 2 – 5 p.m.
June 20 – September 26
Plattsburgh Farmers’ Market
Farmers Market Pavilion
Durkee, Broad and Bridge Streets
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Market Manager: Pat Parker
(518) 493-6761
Wednesdays 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
June 27 – Aug. 29
Saturdays 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
May 12 – Oct. 6
Plattsburgh Farmers’
Green Market
Plattsburgh Church of the Nazarene
Broad and Cornelia Streets
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Market Manager: Beth Spaugh
(518) 643-7822
Thursdays 2 - 6 p.m.
June 19 – Oct. 2
Saranac Lake
Farmers’ Market
Lake Flour Bakery
River and St. Bernard Streets
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Market Manager: Nancy Moriarty
(518) 891-7194
Tuesdays 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
June 3 – Sept. 30
Schroon Lake Farmers’ Market
Village parking Lot
Schroon Lake, NY 12870
Market contact: Sam Hendren
(518) 834-7306
Mondays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
June 30 – September 1
Ticonderoga Farmers’ Market
Route 9N just west of Moses Circle Monument
Ticonderoga, NY 12883
Saturdays 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
July – Oct.
Wilmington Farmers’ Market
Heritage Park – Route 86 and Hazelton Road
Wilmington, NY 12946
Market Manager: Marjorie Swift
(518) 946-7642
Thursdays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
July 3 – Aug. 28
For information on farmers’ markets across the North Country, visit: www.adirondackharvest.com
For information on farmers’ markets throughout New York State visit: www.agmkt.state.ny.us Click on Farm and Market Search. Click on Farmers’ Markets.
