Farmers Market returns to Gloucester

Nate Rice

July 08, 2007 09:29 pm

— The Farmers Market will be back in Gloucester.
Fruit, vegetables, flowers, plants, baked goods and organic products will all be offered when the Cape Ann Farmers Market returns this week to Harbor Loop.
The market will be open every Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. until Oct. 11.
“There is a need for that type of thing here,” said Sara Young, Farmers Market manager. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Shoppers can expect new vendors and new items, including cage-free chicken and eggs.
The market’s advisory group has attempted to find vendors to sell products that were missing from last year’s market, Gloucester’s first. When the market opened in a “trial run” last August, about 600 people attended the first day.
A core group from the volunteer committee, formed last year to oversee the market, now serves as the advisory group.
“We really feel like we’ve covered the products as far as the products people can’t find on Cape Ann,” Young said. “We’re eliminating the middle man.”
Consumers will be able to talk face-to-face with the farmers bringing their harvest to the market.
“By having those products available, it’s a way for the community to think differently about food, and where it came from,” Young said.
Sustainable Cape Ann, a group that promotes sustainable energy, is working hand-and-hand with the Cape Ann Farmers Market in order to “bring people together to create sustainable solutions for the community.”
Brox Farm in Dracut is one of the farms that will participate in the market this season.
“The people in Gloucester I find are very appreciative of fresh, locally grown produce,” David Dumaresq said. “They don’t take it for granted, and they’re very appreciative and knowledgeable.”
Thursday, the farm will offer beans, blueberries, sweet corn, cucumbers, green and red leaf lettuces, romaine lettuce, honey, basil, cilantro, a small selection of flowers, tomatoes, summer and zucchini squashes, and radishes.
Every week, Brox Farm will have more of a selection of items, as the picking season expands.
“Pretty much by mid-September we’re at our peak — as far as the number of products we’re picking,” Dumaresq said.
The market will also be working with Gloucester restaurants such as Passports and Dog Bar to get the fresh ingredients and produce into their kitchens. And for the first time, the market will be featuring the arts, in collaboration with seARTS.
“We’re really trying to incorporate into the market things that people produce themselves,” Young said.

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