Malta Farmers’ Market will re-open for the 2013 season on Tuesday, June 4th, in the north end of the Allerdice ACE Hardware parking lot at 2570 Route 9 (see map here). This new location, just 100 yards south of last year’s site at Malta Community Center, will allow for easier parking and access to the market area. The weekly market’s 2013 season will feature educational events thanks to a generous grant from the GLOBALFOUNDRIES-Town of Malta Foundation.
“Once again this year, many groups in the Malta community are helping to make this market a reality,” notes Suzanne Balet Haight, the on-site manager of Malta Farmers’ Market and owner of Balet Flowers & Design, a Malta-based farm located on Nelson Avenue Extension. “The market is fortunate to have received a generous grant from the GLOBALFOUNDRIES-Town of Malta Foundation, a terrific site location kindly provided by Allerdice, and the continued support of town officials.”
This season’s market will feature a dozen farms and vendors bringing vegetables, apples and berries, plants and flowers, cheese, meat, poultry, eggs, baked goods, prepared foods, sewn handcrafts, and a knife and garden tool sharpening service. The market will be open every Tuesday afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m., through the end of October.
The $2,000 grant from the GLOBALFOUNDRIES – Town of Malta Foundation will help fund several community outreach events at the market this season, including opening day festivities:
June 4 Events – Opening Day & Garden Education
- 3:30-5:30 – Face painting for kids (free of charge)
- 4:00 – Opening celebration/ribbon-cutting with community officials
- 3:00-6:00 – Create a Container Garden – The market’s plant and flower vendors will help customers to select flowering plants, vegetables, or herbs for a themed container garden (herb assortment, “pizza” garden, shade or sun container, etc.). Children are invited to participate.
- 3:00-6:00 – Master Gardeners from the Saratoga County Cornell Cooperative Extension will answer gardening questions and offer advice; distribute seasonal lawn and garden tips; and test dry soil samples for pH levels ($1 per sample). The master gardeners can also collect moist soil samples, insect and plant samples for further analysis.
Later in the season (dates to be announced), additional outreach and educational activities at the Malta Farmers’ Market will include grilling techniques for grass-fed meat, food preservation methods (freezing, pickling, drying, canning, fermentation), an “Eat a Rainbow” class for kids about healthy meals and snacks, and a fall harvest festival.
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Producer-Only Market Means Products are Local
The Malta Farmers’ Market is managed by the Saratoga Farmers’ Market Association, which runs local “producer-only” markets. This standard requires all vendors to grow or produce their goods in Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, or Washington counties and ensures that products are fresh and unique, not purchased for re-sale. In this way, sales provide economic, ecological, and social support to local communities.
Other Saratoga County markets operated by the Saratoga Farmers’ Market Association include Saratoga Farmers’ Market at High Rock Park (Wednesdays from 3-6 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., through October); and a market in Clifton Park at St. George’s Episcopal Church at 912 Route 146 (Thursdays from 2-5 p.m., beginning July 11th through end of October).
