Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

This Saturday, January 26, will be 8 weeks of the Wintertime Farmers’ Market. And there’s plenty new to discover on your next visit!

New this week are potatoes from Sampson Farm and organic turnips from Tripp Farm, both just over the border in Westport, MA. Simmons Farm is taking the next two or three weeks off to give their lettuces and winter greens a breather. But you may have noticed that Hill Orchards now has apple cider vinegars, as well as Scratch Farm carrots. We’ll also have Maine-grown yellow-eyed beans, the perfect protein for a hearty winter soup. Plus, live music from perennial favorites, the Old Time String Band.

Fast forward to February 1, we’ll be welcoming artisan breads from Olga’s, plus bacon and other locally raised pork from Pat’s Pastured Poultry in Saunderstown. And Johnson & Wales student chefs will return with a live cooking demo using veggies, cheese and other surprising ingredients fresh from the market.

Even in the winter, there’s always something fresh from Rhode Island! Stay in the loop – sign up for our e-mail newsletter!

The Hope High School Farmers’ Market is probably the most trafficked market in the state. And if you’ve been, you know how lively a scene of colorful veggies and happy eaters appears there every Saturday morning. In 2006, we added New Harvest Coffee, a fair-trade roaster now based in Pawtucket, to the mix. It was nice to have a warm cup of coffee in hand as you traversed the market. Then this summer we piloted an expansion with Seven Stars Bakery, Farmstead Cheese, Bomster Scallops and Robin Hollow Farm flowers.

The vendor expansion brought the market to a new level and feedback was extremely positive. So we’re excited to announce 3 new producers already confirmed for next year:

• Matunuck Oyster Farm – oysters, little necks and mussels grown in a South County pond
• Narragansett Creamery – artisan cheeses made in Providence with local milk
• Pat’s Pastured Poultry – free-range pork and chicken raised in Saunderstown

We’re still accepting applications for the 2008 summer markets. RI, MA and CT farmers and food producers interested in joining any of our Providence-area markets can fill out the application (PDF).