Reviews for: Point Pleasant Beach Farmers Market
The farmers market is still a very active tradition in the UK and it's nice to see it brought back. I hope we will have it for many years.
There were only 10 stalls open, and only 3 sold farm products. The rest were frozen items (raviolis), pantry items (tea), and little tchatchkies.
Of the 3 that sold farm products, one of them was a wholesaler, and one only sold eggs. The third was an actual farmer.
If youre looking to support local farmers and feed your family farm fresh products, this is not the place.
Comment
We were pleased to grow the market from 6 commercial vendors in 2009, to 16 small farms and businesses in 2011. Of the 16 vendors, 6 were family farms. Of those 6, 5 were organic, the 6th being an IPM farm. The market brought together local Point Pleasant Beach businesses including a coffee house selling organic Fair Trade coffee and beans, and several small businesses launched by women in the last year. These entrepreneurs included gluten free vegan baked goods, sustainably and ethically sourced pet treats, a green tea business, a children's book authored by a local woman, and handmade stationary with images of our beach town. We included an alpaca farmer for the first time, who brought fibers, felts and crafts. An invitation was extended to and accepted by, the longest standing vendor in the market, the ravioli man, who has always been in high demand for his crab cakes, raviolis and marinated steaks, as well as for his stuffed breads, since the market opened in 2006. Raw local honey and freshly laid eggs were available every week, in addition to all of the other offerings. We unfortunately saw one of the wettest seasons in recent years and had crop failure from 3 of our family farms. Those that were able, participated in the market when they had crops to offer. We saw an early end to the season for all 3. To this day, in January, we are still connecting people to freshly laid eggs and raw local honey. Trips to some of our farms result in batches of freshly cut greens, like organic arugula, mixed greens, baby romaine and baby kale. We as a group look forward to returning for our 7th year and to our continued commitment to growing the market and showcasing produce from farms located within a 40 mile radius of Point Pleasant Beach.
Comment
I think that the small number of vendors is exactly why it is important to continue to shop at this market. If farmers see that there is interest and money to be made there, then they will be more likely to start selling there. It is also important to start sharing the importance of local food with friends so they may also help keep our local farms going.