Shop Local, Eat Fresh at the Saratoga Farmers' Market | Food, Crafts, Music in Saratoga Springs

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

Becoming a vendor

Farmers’ market opportunities empower local businesses

By

By Julia Howard

Of all the reasons to love Saratoga Springs, its various locally-owned businesses
undoubtedly contribute, providing excellent shopping and dining and making it a fun and unique
city. Interestingly, one of the most positive effects of a thriving area supported by local
businesses is that it inspires more people to become business owners, continuing a positive cycle
that supports the local economy.

Since its opening in 1978, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market has rallied support for local
producers of all kinds, offering new and established businesses an opportunity to connect with
the community, brand their business, and grow. As the farmers’ market prepares to move to its
winter location at the Wilton Mall this November, they invite local producers to consider
opportunities to become a vendor.

“As the longest-running farmers’ market in Saratoga, we encourage local farms and
producers to apply to sell at our markets. We have a dedicated customer base excited to support
new vendors,” says Mark Bascom, president of the Saratoga Farmers’ Market Association.
While pursuing selling opportunities at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market is a simple process,
there are rules. All businesses must be within a 50-mile radius of Saratoga Springs, a standard
that keeps “local” authentic to the farmers’ market and its customers. The Saratoga Farmers’
Market also requires that products sold on-site must be grown or produced by the business
selling them, not manufactured elsewhere, and brought to the market.

The online application for the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s Winter Market is currently
open and will close on September 15. Interested individuals can access the application at the
farmers’ market’s website, www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, and refer to “Vendors” at the top
menu. The farmers’ market offers affordable seasonal rates for November through April and also
an opportunity to sell products exclusively during the holiday season.

“Supporting and promoting local farmers is a priority,” explains SFMA vice-president
Beth Trattel. “The Saratoga Farmers’ Market provides an affordable opportunity for farms and
small businesses to showcase their products to a local audience.”

If you have any questions before applying, please contact the farmers’ market at
sfma.manager@gmail.com Farmers’ market staff will happily answer questions and assist
with the application process.

 

Link to application: https://managemymarket.com/landing.aspx?orgID=88

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open on Wednesdays from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. and
Saturdays from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at High Rock Park in Downtown Saratoga. Find us online at
www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter, and follow
us on Facebook and Instagram @SaratogaFarmersMarket.

Saratoga Farmers’ Market Keeps It Local

By

 

By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Carl Deppe of Row to Hoe by Pattie Garrett

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is all about being local: Fresh-from-the-farm produce, eggs, and meats fill many stalls. Locally produced cheeses and yogurt beckon buyers. And lemonades flavored with local lavender, wines made with local grapes, ciders pressed from local apples, beers crafted with regional hops, and locally distilled spirits add even more of a festive feel.

This sense of the local is what the market’s mission of being a producers-only market is about. In an era where one might wonder where one’s food is coming from, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market takes pride in saying, “It comes from right here.”

“Being a producers-only market has incredible value,” says market director Julia Howard. “We keep money in the local economy, of course, but more importantly we offer a sense of authenticity.”

The market association is accepting applications through August 31 for its winter market, which begins November 4 at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park and runs Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the end of April. Applications are available at the following link: https://www.saratogafarmersmarket.org/becoming-a-vendor/.

Among the factors that the market considers in reviewing applications are:

  • Whether the vendor is growing, raising or creating their product within Saratoga, Washington, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties. Occasionally, vendors are approved from outside these core counties in order to bring products that are not readily available at the market.
  • Availability of space.
  • Seniority within the farmers’ market organization.

Most importantly, says Howard, is the idea that the farmers’ market is about connecting farmers, customers, and the community.

This reliance on farmers has historic roots. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market, founded in 1978, was initially established as a venue for farmers to sell produce and meat raised on their farms to consumers desiring locally grown and raised food.

Over the years, the market evolved, adding items that were not necessarily made from local farm items but were still produced locally. Prepared foods, baked goods, and beverages came into the mix, as did certain items like fish caught off of Long Island and oils pressed from olives owned by a local farmer’s family in Italy. These changes prompted the market association’s board to make a pledge to ensure that the balance of vendors would always be majority agricultural.  

“We are 70 percent agricultural,” Howard says. “We rely on farmers to keep us who we are.”

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.