Sponsored by Salem Main Streets - in the city of Salem Massachusetts

Applications for 2012

We are now accepting applications for the 2012 Market. It will be held Thursdays from 3 – 7 p.m. in historic downtown Salem MA at Derby Square behind Old Town Hall from June 14 through October 25. Applications must be received by March 30, 2012. Food vendors must fill out the Health Department form, though there is no fee to apply this year. All forms should be mailed to Salem Main Streets, 265 Essex St., Salem, MA 01970.

Like last year, we have three sizes for spots, 10×10, 10×20 and 10×30. There is a discount for pre-paying for the full season.

Know someone that you would like to see at the Market? Pass this along to them.

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Thank You!

The Salem Farmers’ Market Committee and market organizer Salem Main Streets would like to thank our supporters for a successful market season. We appreciate our many loyal customers who continued supporting the market from the summer into our first attempt at a winter market. We appreciate the many farms and vendors who joined us for our first winter season and the City of Salem who offered us a location for the market and the many volunteers who helped make this possible. If you have ideas or feedback on the market or are interested in volunteering contact us at sfm@salemmainstreets.org. We hope to see you on Thursday, June 14 when the market opens again for the 2012 season!

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Don’t Miss the Last Market of the Season

Thursday, December 22 is the last Salem Winter Farmers’ Market of the season. Santa Claus will be spreading holiday cheer at the market from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.  This last market of the season is a perfect opportunity for shopping for your holiday entertaining – buy delicious produce, cheese, jams, cookies, pies and much more! There are many wonderful gift items for sale such as local art, jars of spreadable fruit, herbal teas, local honey and salsa. The market is open from 2 – 6 in Artists’ Row on Front Street. For more information about the market contact organizer jennifer@salemmainstreets.org.

 

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A Local Food Only Public Market

There is a proposed Public Market in Boston, that would go along the Rose Kennedy Greenway, near Haymarket. The concept is that it will only sell Massachusetts grown foods. Personally, I think it will quickly evolve into a New England thing, for no other reason than the variety that we get from all the states here. Add to that, how small the region is, compared to states on the other side of the Mississippi. Local is the new organic, which was the new something and so on. Is a Massachusetts-only Market taking this trend too far? I can drive to parts of Maine in less time than it takes to get to the other side of the state.

I am also curious about the Fall/Winter. As we know, options become more limited. Can a large Public Market, along with all the Winter Markets that have started recently, sell produce only grown here in the state? I think this will be a great test for how big the locavore movement really is. The movement is real, it is important (for our health, and for local businesses, and small farms), and I want it to continue. I am just curious how they are going to do, with a large number of vendors selling the same six things.

Will this change what people grow? Competition sparks a many interesting thing. We could see a bigger variety of the produce grown. When I was in Western MA, one farm had orange, yellow, and rainbow carrots. I have seen watermelon radishes in Somerville. Perhaps this will play out in farm growing a variety of types of produce that grow well here in the region.

Public market to focus strictly on Mass. products – The Boston Globe

 

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It Is A Win – Win

“When shoppers buy local from our vendors, the vendors, in turn, usually spend local with the money they make,’’ said Jeff Grassie, cochairman of the Haverhill Winter Farmers Market, now in its inaugural year. “It’s a win-win situation for any community.’’

“People have to be willing to adjust their habits for what’s in season,’’ said Jennifer Bell, manager of Salem Main Streets, the nonprofit that runs the Salem farmers market and this year extended its operations into December in response to overwhelming demand for a winter market. “They have to think about how to use the local produce and adjust what they’re cooking to what’s produced in the area.’’

Peter Maitland of Maitland Mountain Farm in Salem said his involvement with his hometown market led to a contract with a local green grocer who now sells the farm’s eggs, horseradish, and spiced pickles. The Salem market has also helped boost sales at First Light Farm in Hamilton, where produce is sold through a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program; people buy shares in the farm’s harvest at the onset of each growing season and then receive a portion of each crop that is cultivated.

“The biggest thing I need is marketing,’’ said Mike Raymond, 42, who runs First Light Farm and is offering a winter CSA that now attracts 85 subscribers, up from a few dozen customers last year. “No one comes to the farm; it’s just a private piece of land that I rent. The market allows me to meet other farmers and show people what I’m doing.’’

Vegging out in winter – Boston Globe

 

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