You missed it didn’t you? Admit it. You put it on your calendar that the Salem Farmers Market grand opening for the 2014 season was Thursday, June 12th. And you forgot about it. Don’t worry. It will take place next Thursday and every Thursday until Oct. 23rd from 3-7pm in our Derby Square.
Vegetables by the ounce, pound and bushel await you. Plus a great deal more (eggs, strawberries, apple cider, tomatoes, greens, pretzels, honey, cookies, and cheese). Several of the tables we hear were cleaned out.
The mission of a “Farmers Market” is to enhance the quality of life in the Salem downtown area by providing a community activity that fosters social gathering and interaction.
You the shopper are given the rare opportunity to interact with the person who grew or made the items on the table for purchase. You can ask questions. Where did it come from? How was it grown? How fresh is it based on how long it took to get to market?
According to a survey conducted by Farmers Markets Today magazine, more than 85% of farmers market vendors traveled fewer than 50 miles to sell at a farmers market in 2008. In fact, more than half of farmers traveled less than 10 miles to their market, according to a 2006 USDA survey.
You are supporting local agriculture and producers by providing a direct market for their produce and goods. And believe it or not you are also bringing business to local merchants.
The Farmers Market Coalition reports that a 2010 study of the Easton Farmers Market in Pennsylvania, for example, found that 70% of farmers market customers are also shopping at downtown businesses, spending up to an extra $26,000 each week.
Therefore we invite you to come to Salem for our Farmers Market, and then stay to visit our diverse selection of shops, stores and restaurants. (Photographs courtesy of Social Palates)
