Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Local farmers’ market opens for the season

Courtesy Faye Adams

The Greenfield Farmers’ Market in Court Square opened on the morning of Cinco de Mayo with hundreds gathering to buy goods. Swaddled babies and leashed doggies were seen strolling down the path.

The market opened at 8:00 a.m. with vendors selling a colorful variety of locally grown produce and crafts.

Music by Fire Pond filled the air as families shopped. Eveline MacDougall and Douglas Reid played a variety of string instruments on the green. Both said they have played for the market the past six years. Their friendly pitches of “Buy lots of plants, buy lots of honey, support your local market” rang throughout the morning.

For the next five months, the Greenfield Farmers’ Market will be available for all customers between 8 and 12:30 p.m.  to buy locally grown produce, flowers, wares, honey and more.

Devon Whitney-Deal, of Conway, Mass., manages the market in addition to setting up shop as a vendor, selling Beaumont’s Berries Homemade Jams. The 4 oz. and 8 oz. jars of Triple Berry, Raspberry, Nectarine, Peach Raspberry Jams and Gwen’s Relish have home grown fruit and honey with little to no sugar.

She said, “this year’s Farmers’ Market will include a great variety of locally grown and produced farm products and locally made crafts.”

“We’re all happy to be starting the season again seeing old and new friends, eating delicious local, fresh fruits and vegetables,” added Whitney-Deal.

Her friendly demeanor shined amongst the cloudy overcast.

“The market has accepted the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program of Department of Transitional Assistance) for the past two years and last year alone, we saw a 50 percent increase in SNAP customers, said Whitney-Deal, “[how] great it was for SNAP customers can buy edible plants, like tomato plants- to have at home and buy fruit in season.”

Gone are the days of Farmers’ Markets being for the exclusive and elite. All customers are welcomed.

Whitney-Deal said she is “happy to have an increase in SNAP customers though found it sad there are more SNAP customers.”

According to the March 2012 data by the Mass. Department of Labor and Workforce, Greenfield alone has 579 people unemployed in the population of 8,870.

SNAP customers can visit Whitney-Deal’s booth and meet with newly hired assistant manager and University of Massachusetts Amherst Emma Golden to transfer food stamps to tokens.

Golden, majoring in Sustainability Food and Farming program at UMass Amherst spent one of her last weekends of the semester vending at the market. She also works at Many Hands Farm Corp in Pelham, Mass..

She welcomed qualified SNAP participants and asked how much they wanted to spend in increments of two dollars. Once decided, they slid their EBT card and received wooden Greenfield Farmers’ Market tokens. Golden informed them they’re able to roll over tokens for  next week as long as they don’t get lost. Signs were on each vendor’s table reminding what the possibilities of payment are.

A young boy mustered enough courage to request a yummy honey stick at Warm Colors Apiary of So. Deerfield booth, yet they sold out by 11:30. The beeswax candles and jars of honey were fantastic sellers with samplers on the side. Fill-in worker, Hayley, handed out owners, Bonita and Dan Conlan’s business card and shared about their annual February bee-keeping classes.

In front of Sunrise Farms of Colrain booth stood Jessie Groneman and her three-year-old son, Llewyn Toomajain of Greenfield. He stole the show hiding in his NASA spacesuit.

Whitney-Deal added that crops available to buy for May will be asparagus, bedding plants, radishes, ramps, salad greens and spinach.

“As the season progresses, there will be heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, peppers- hot/sweet, sweet corn, mushrooms, and every other vegetable you can imagine along with a wide range of fruit, including peaches, plums, sour cherries, pears, apples, apple cider, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and watermelon.”

Faye Adams can be reached at [email protected].

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Massachusetts Daily Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *