There will be farmers’ markets in Amherst, Northampton, Springfield and Whately this winter.
Michael Docter, of The Next Barn Over Farm in Hadley, collects a selection of winter vegetables Tuesday In Greek mythology, the Earth flourished during the months when the goddess Persephone graced nature with her presence and turned barren in winter, when she returned to Hades as its queen. Lately, however, the queen has been sticking around all year and the result is an abundance of winter farmers markets.
Mixing creativity with cold storage, area farmers have been able to extend their seasons deeper into the fall and winter. Add year-round operations like livestock meat, bakeries and canned goods, and shoppers have a wide selection, even when its time for snow boots.
This winter there will be Saturday farmers’ markets in Amherst, Northampton, Springfield and Whately. According to the people who run them, the proliferation of the winter markets has been driven by demand.
“We were the first to do it,” said David Jackson, who has been running a winter farmers’ market out of his barn at Enterprise Farm in Whately for four years. “People kind of like coming out here in the winter time. It’s cozy and you get fresher products.”
Jackson and others say that people who frequent farmers markets in the summer have grown more discriminating, and that ethos keeps them coming back in the winter. Part of it, Jackson said, is environmental concern about having access to local food without worrying about burning of fossil fuels to transport produce from outside the region. Another factor is piece of mind about sanitation.
“People are becoming greater consumers of local food,” he said.
Like other winter markets, Jackson’s, which is called The Food Shed, is heavy on roots vegetables and greens, which can be grown later in the year than other crops. However, he also imports produce from a wide area that extends from Prince Edward Island in Canada to Florida. The Food Shed opened on Halloween and will run through May.
There are several new winter markets this year, including one in the basement of Thornes Marketplace in Northampton and two in Amherst. The Big Blue Barn at Swartz Family Farm has already opened. A pre-Thanksgiving market on Saturday will feature potatoes, peeled butternut squash, sugar pumpkins, onions, a wide array of greens, fresh baked breads and muffins. People are asked to bring non-perishable food donations that day for the Amherst Survival Center.
The other winter market at Amherst Regional Middle School will start Dec. 4. Organizer Michael Docter, who runs Winter Moon Farm in Hadley, said it will feature more than 25 vendors.
“It’s going to be a great place for people to come in the winter and get great food,” he said.
Late crops have exceptional quality, Docter said, because they are grown at lower temperatures. Docter stores some of his vegetables so he can spread his products out over the season.
In Springfield, the old Monkey House in Forest Park will be home to a new winter market starting on Dec. 11. Belle Rita Novak, who organized the spring and summer Springfield Farmers Market in 1998, went winter with the concept last year, holding the market in East Longmeadow. Although that market was outside, it was well attended, according to Novak.
“The vendors were very happy last year,” she said.
The Monkey House will provide a more comfortable indoor setting this year. Although none of the produce comes from Springfield itself, Novak brings food in from the rest of the Pioneer Valley. With more and more farmers using greenhouses, there will be an abundance of fresh kale, spinach and other leafy vegetables late into the year. Patrons of the market will have free access to Forest Park, Novak said.