14 minute read
Farm Fresh
Locally grown, nutritious food is as close as your nearest farmers market.
Gather up your reusable totes: Farmers market season is officially upon us. As New Hampshire hits its peak produce harvest months, so too do these open-air markets that have been mainstays on the East Coast since the first one popped up in Pennsylvania in 1730. According to the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture directory, there are 26 farmers markets throughout the Granite State. Here are three that are worth checking out.
By Kara McGrath
Seacoast Eat Local
2024 Season Starts: May 2 in Exeter
2024 Season Ends: Oct. 31 in Exeter
Day/Time/Location:
Mondays, 2:30 – 6 p.m., at 66 Main St., Downtown Mini Park in Durham (dog-friendly)
Wednesdays, 2:30 – 6 p.m., at 140 Portland Ave., Jenny Thompson Pool Lot in Dover (dog-friendly)
Thursdays, 2:30 – 6 p.m., at Swasey Parkway in Exeter
Saturdays, 8 a.m. – noon, at 1 Junkins Ave., City Hall Lot in Portsmouth
Seacoast Eat Local, the 501(c)3 nonprofit behind four farmers markets on New Hampshire’s coast, was founded in 2005, when a group of Seacoast-area farmers and consumers launched an “eat local challenge.”
The goal? Only eat foods produced within 100 miles.
Though the grassroots organization has expanded far beyond a simple challenge, the core mission remains the same. “Our key goal is to connect local producers with consumers,” says Morgan Morani, community engagement programs manager for the group, which manages both winter and summer markets, and also publishes Seacoast Harvest, a free resource for finding locally-grown food.
“In order to be a vendor at our markets — any type of vendor, including crafters — you need to be local," Morani says.
Local, in this case, means Rockingham and Strafford counties in New Hampshire, plus York County in Maine. Farmers must be located in one of those regions, and local food producers must use majority local ingredients in their final products, with some exceptions. “It’s hard to source citrus locally (in New Hampshire),” Morani says.
The group hosted its first winter farmers market in 2007, then got involved with the region’s summer markets primarily as a resource for facilitating the acceptance of SNAP and EBT incentives for low-income individuals who wanted to shop. In 2022, the markets in Durham, Dover, Exeter and Portsmouth were looking for new leadership — so Seacoast Eat Local stepped in.
Having four markets in the region means you can shop for local products most days of the week: In the summer, Durham is open Mondays, Dover on Wednesdays, Exeter on Thursdays and Portsmouth on Saturdays. Each offers a slightly different vibe, both in size and vendor selection. According to Morani, Durham and Dover are the smallest, with eight to 15 vendors on average. “(They’re) more like your average grocery shop,” she says. “You’ve got your fruits, veggies and meats.” These two are also dog-friendly, unlike the busier markets which are limited, pooch-wise, by their location’s restrictions.
With 30 to 50 vendors on average, Portsmouth’s market has historically been the largest, although “Exeter is giving it a run for its money,” Morani says. The latter is the group’s busiest weekday market, and offers the most prepared food options. At the Saturday market in Portsmouth, Morani says there are more specialty products and crafters.
“We really try and focus on keeping a balanced market and not necessarily allowing a lot of (vendors) in the same category to attend,” Morani says. If a vendor who applies isn’t a fit for any of the Seacoast Eat Local spots, she can help them connect with other markets across the state. “Because I worked for the food bank and ran the incentive program for the state, I have a lot of contacts across the state,” Morani says.
Dover has been the group’s most challenging market, but Morani is optimistic about 2024, since the market has moved to the recently-renovated Jenny Thompson Outdoor Pool parking lot. In addition to being close to the pool and a skate park, “it’s on a busier intersection, so it should get a lot of foot traffic based on people driving by.”
The group tries to have local musicians perform at every market, along with other special events — ranging from educational programs to fundraisers like the Halloween pumpkin smash — throughout the season. There are activities for kids too, like coloring and crafting booths.
Charitable initiatives remain at the core of Seacoast Eat Local. During September, the Portsmouth, Exeter, and Dover markets participate in the Vouchers for Veterans program, which gives any New Hampshire or Maine resident with a valid military or veteran ID $20 to spend at the market. Throughout the season, all of the markets accept SNAP and EBT.
In addition, Seacoast Eat Local has a matching program to help make those credits go further. If a shopper uses their EBT card to get, say, $10 in farmers market tokens, Seacoast Eat Local will give them the same dollar amount in fruit and vegetable coupons. “There’s no limit. They could do a dollar; they could do $500,” Morani says. “We match them dollar for dollar.”
Gorham Farmers Market
2024 Season Starts: June 6
2024 Season Ends: Sept. 26
Day/Time/Location:
Thursdays, 3 – 6 p.m., at Gorham Common, 66 Main St.
Dog-Friendly: Technically no, but “I don’t discourage it”
Jeff Stewart’s primary policy for the Gorham Farmers Market is simple: “Within reason, anything goes.” Stewart is director of the town’s Parks and Recreation department, which took over running the farmers market in 2019, when the event averaged about 10 to 15 vendors per week. Stewart says he has flexibility to let the vendors do their own thing because “it’s just basically me making decisions. I can make decisions on the fly instead of saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got to go back to the committee to see how that’s going to work.’” Stewart recalls one vendor who asked if she could bring her baby goats, something other markets hadn’t allowed. But he said, “If that brings people to your tent, absolutely. I’m here to help you guys make money.”
Under Stewart’s leadership, the market has grown to an average of 40 vendors every week — comparatively huge, especially for a mid-week event. “The other two big markets up here are Lancaster and Littleton, and they already had Saturday and Sunday,” Stewart says of why the Gorham market has stuck to its Thursday schedule. “I don’t like stepping on toes.”
Unlike other markets that try to stick to local vendors, Gorham doesn’t have restrictions on who can set up shop. Vendors can come from anywhere, but they must have grown or crafted the product they’re selling, Stewart says, noting that they’re not really seeking people selling “designs they made on a Cricket and threw on a T-shirt.
Nothing wrong with that, but to me that’s not really what the farmer’s market should be.” (Don’t worry, Cricket crafters, the town also has a separate vendor fair where “anybody can sell anything.”) Instead, you’ll find the expected farmers, along with people who sell everything from soaps to baked goods to CBD products to prepared food. The market also hosts live music on the second and fourth Thursdays every month it’s open.
About 15 miles from Mount Washington, Gorham is a prime location for tourists. “Tens of thousands of people roll through (the town) every day during the summer,” Stewart says. “I sit there every Thursday and see people from all over the place.”
The market provides a further draw to stay and shop in the city. Stewart says it’s a good networking opportunity for vendors too, as they often continue to get orders from out-of-town customers even after the market has ended for the season. “Everybody’s just happy that the market is there.”
Barnstead Farmers Market
2024 Season Starts: June 1
2024 Season Ends: Sept. 28
Day/Time/Location:
Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., at 1 Parade Circle, the Village Green
Dog-Friendly: Yes
Four of the Barnstead Farmers Market’s five board members are vendors, including Liz Dionne. Dionne and her fiancé own Shamrock Hill Home Gardens, a micro farm in Barnstead, and have been selling their wares at the market since it started in 2016. Having majority vendors running the market helps keep decision-making streamlined. “When discussing a new project or concern, it’s nice to get feedback from the vendors that are on the board,” Dionne says. “We all work together very well.”
Currently, Barnstead is a mid-sized market, with 20 to 30 vendors on average each week. “We have an unwritten rule that we want more food vendors, like farmers, and fewer crafters,” Dionne says before noting that there’s a good mix of products for sale. The board tries to prioritize vendors from Barnstead, but people from surrounding areas are welcome too. “We have a lot of neighboring farms that participate, and we love it,” Dionne says. “It adds a bigger variety for customers.”
On top of noticing what’s selling best, Dionne says, “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback in the last few years on what people want…and it’s definitely lots of produce and meats and breads and pastries.”
Dionne and her fiancé have pivoted to help meet those demands: While they started by selling seedlings, a lot of people came up to their booth asking if anyone was selling bread. “We thought to ourselves, there is a need for bread,” Dionne recalls. The couple already had a bread machine at home, so the following Saturday, they made a loaf to bring to the market; it sold almost immediately. Now, they have a dozen bread machines and make a wide variety of flavors, like cinnamon raisin (the best-seller), double cheese with onion and cheddar beer.
In 2023, the market moved to The Barnstead Parade, a village green that Dionne estimates is about the size of three football fields, though the market only takes up the space of one. The new location, which offers much more space and plenty of parking, is getting lots of positive feedback. As Dionne puts it: “The vibe is just so much nicer. We’re not on busy Route 28. It’s a huge village green. There’s a beautiful bandstand. There are a couple of picnic tables in the center. We have a lot of people bring their dogs. It’s just a calmer place (with) beautiful oak trees and maple trees around the edges.”
In addition to moving, the market welcomed food trucks into the fold last year. “That really brought in a lot of customers because these food trucks have a following,” Dionne says. “People will travel to go to their favorite food truck.” The plan is to have food trucks again for the 2024 season.
There’s also live music from local musicians every week. “We try to pick musicians who will provide music that’s suitable for the farmers market,” Dionne says, which means a lot of folk with some occasional country music as well.
Now that the market is in the Barnstead Parade, it coincides nicely with Old Home Day in August. In 2023, “the place was packed,” Dionne recalls. The Farmers Market and Old Home Day committees worked together to provide a day of entertainment for visitors — raffles, children’s games and award ceremonies.
“We have a lot of loyal, repeat customers, and they know what they want. They show up and they go to the vendors they want to get their things from.” Dionne says she also sees plenty of new faces each week. Though they’ve moved off Route 28, there’s still a sign pointing visitors to the market. “We’re just trying to be local. We don’t want to get too big. We want everyone to be comfortable and just have a nice time when they’re at the market.”
“We love it when people want to stop by, even if they don’t buy anything,” Dionne says. “Just stop by and walk around.”
FARMERS MARKETS BY COUNTY
BELKNAP
Gilmanton Community Farmers Market gilmantonfarmersmarket.com
CARROLL
Tamworth Farmers Market tamworthfarmersmarket.org
CHESHIRE
Farmers Market of Keene keenefarmersmarket.com
COOS
Lancaster Farmers Market lancasterfarmersmarket.org
HILLSBOROUGH
GRAFTON
MERRIMACK
Canterbury Community Farmers Market canterburyfarmersmarket.com
ROCKINGHAM
Candia Farmers Market candiafarmersmarket.org
STRAFFORD
Seacoast Eat Local seacoasteatlocal.org
SULLIVAN
Newport Farmers Market newportfarmersmarketnh.com
Looking for more fresh and local meat, locally-grown produce and baked goods? Check our website for dates, times and locations for farmers markets across the state: nhmagazine.com/nhmarkets
