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

Shop Local, Eat Fresh

holiday season

Saratoga Farmers’ Market begins winter season indoors at the Wilton Mall

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By Julia Howard

 

As days grow shorter and colder, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market is grateful to take up our indoor home in the Wilton Mall this Saturday, November 5, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, where it will take place weekly until the end of April. This location offers the convenience of one-stop shopping for various products, ample parking, and convenient restrooms. The Wilton Mall’s food court area, with its luminous skylights, provides much-needed warmth for vendors and shoppers alike. 

Winter market at the Wilton Mall, photo by Pattie Garrett

Over forty Saratoga-area farms and businesses will sell a bounty of locally grown and produced items, including fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, bread and baked goods, artisan cheese, yogurt, milk, and honey, ready-to-eat foods, handmade art, clothing, and wellness products. Market-goers will see many familiar faces from High Rock Park.

In addition, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market will introduce several Holiday Boutique Market artisans and crafters offering various giftable items just in time for the holiday shopping season. 

New vendors this season include Trendy Empress Boutique bringing comfortable, handmade clothing for children and babies. And King Creek Farms will bring pasture-raised poultry and free-range eggs to the farmers’ market.

As Thanksgiving approaches, customers can preorder holiday meats, stock up on fresh produce for sides, and find plenty of dessert options. Hepatica Farm and King Creek Farm will offer pasture-raised turkey this season, and they are currently taking reservations.

Gomez Veggie Ville, photo by Eric Jenks

Family activities and market events will be festive and exciting this season. Farmers’ market staff and community organizations will offer weekly themed activities for kids of all ages and abilities. This year, Christmas and New Year’s Eve will fall on Saturdays, and local farms and producers guarantee the freshest ingredients for your holiday feasts. The farmers’ market also looks forward to special markets for Valentine’s Day, March Maple Days, and Easter in 2023.

Customers can rely on the market’s regular nutrition assistance programs as we embrace the season’s newness. Customers who own an EBT card can exchange their SNAP benefits for farmers’ market tokens to purchase fresh foods. Additionally, the market offers FreshConnect, a SNAP incentive program where every $5 a customer spends with their EBT benefits; they receive a $2 FreshConnect coupon to spend at the farmers’ market. The Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan and Greenwich-based Comfort Food Community will continue bringing $5 vouchers to CDPHP members at select farmers’ markets. 

The market bell will ring this Saturday at 9:30 am, beginning a new season. There will be live music by Kate Blain as well as special guests. Bring your shopping bags and your family or friends, and enjoy the tradition of shopping locally.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market will be open on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. from November through April. The market will be in the Wilton Mall Food Court, accessible from the TrustCo mall entrance, across from BJs, or the mall interior. The CDTA’s 450 (from Schenectady) and 452 (from Skidmore College via downtown Saratoga) run to the Wilton Mall at least once an hour on Saturday mornings. Find us online at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for our weekly newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Holiday Traditions on the Farm

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By Julia Howard

Laurie Kokinda’s horse Hyde, photo courtesy of Laurie Kokinda

The holiday season evokes traditions that create lasting memories while reinforcing our values and identity. This week, we look to our local farmers and producers as they share some of their favorite memories of their holiday traditions on the farm.

“When we were kids, Christmas Eve was always when we had our big dinner and presents,” shares Laurie Kokinda of Kokinda Farm and Laurie’s Jams and Jellies. “Christmas morning, we always saddled horses and went for a trail ride through Luther Forest. Back then, it was a single dirt road and especially beautiful if we got fresh snow.”

Christophe Robert of Longlesson Farm takes a traditional New Year’s Day family hike on their farm. “After a big New Year’s Eve celebration full of food and drinks, we hike to cure the hangover,” says Robert. They also bring their goats along as, according to Robert, “they hike better than the dogs.”

New Year’s Day Hike with the goats, photo provided by Longlesson Farm

At Slate Valley Farms, Gina Imbimbo happily anticipates the farm’s New Year’s tradition of making natural dyes from their farm-grown Christmas trees. The dye is a red-brown hue used to color yarn, socks, and linens. Their family also prepares for the maple season by tapping maple trees on the first full moon in January, the wolf moon, per Native American traditions.

Matthew Leon of Lovin’ Mama Farm describes their family traditions as “land-centric.” “Normally, around Thanksgiving, we do cider pressing, and in the New Year, we help with processing maple syrup,” says Leon. Processing maple syrup is just for their use, and Leon explains their rustic tradition of carrying buckets of sap to be boiled.

Nettle Meadow and The Kemp Sanctuary, photo provided

Nettle Meadow Farm and the Kemp Animal Sanctuary celebrates Christmas with a big holiday bash hosted by the farm owners for the employees. The farm’s annual party includes a feast, a secret Santa gift swap, games, and good conversation. Farmworker Sean Dean jokes that the farm’s senior rescue turkey has the safest home.

This holiday season, we encourage you to build traditions of your own. Perhaps by sharing a favorite recipe, shopping for your holiday feast at the farmers’ market, or simply spending time with loved ones — which is where the true spirit of the season lays. The farmers’ market will be closed on Christmas Day and reopen on January 1, 2022.

This week’s recipe: Buttery Breakfast Casserole

Shop Local at the Farmers’ Market this Season

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J. Adkins Cultivation, photo provided

By Julia Howard

Supporting small businesses is always a must in our eyes, and this year it’s as important as ever. Not only does it give our local economy a boost, but you’re more likely to find unique gifts for your loved ones.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market offers a spacious shopping environment featuring 50+ local businesses. The variety of vendors is sure to rekindle your excitement for shopping and finding the perfect gifts – all in one place.

J. Adkins Cultivation is a local, organic grower of classic and hard-to-find organic vegetables, herbs, fruits, perennials, and annuals. For the holidays, they have beautiful poinsettia arrangements as well as numerous giftable plants.

Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff, photo by Pattie Garrett

Saratoga Suds ‘n’ Stuff makes soap the “old fashioned” way – “by hand, in small batches, using fat and lye and some essential oils to scent it.” For the holidays, find soaps in the shape of gingerbread men, Christmas trees, and other fun seasonal shapes alongside their traditional soaps.

Scotch Ridge Berry & Tree Farm has handmade wreaths, kissing balls, holiday swag, and tabletop Christmas trees all this month. Gorgeous greenery makes a memorable and personal gift, and even more so when it’s locally made.

For the spirits connoisseur on your list, Yankee Distillers proudly to stands out as an NYS Farm Distillery, where they use 100% unmalted New York State Grain to produce outstanding bourbon, rye, and vodka. For the beer enthusiast, Mean Max Brew Works makes distinctive craft-brewed ales and lagers fermented naturally without additives.

Saratoga Chocolate Co., photo by Pattie Garrett

Sweet treats are undeniably a part of the holiday season, and Saratoga Chocolate Co. specializes in gourmet craft chocolate bars, handmade truffles, unique chocolate confections, and chocolate tastings and pairings. Their gift sets, hot chocolate mix, and chocolate Santas make perfect stocking stuffers.

Kim Dolan Designed Jewelry and Feathered Antler have a giftable wearable art selection, from handmade jewelry to custom clothing. Kim Dolan makes unique tie-dyed shirts and jewelry made from gold, silver, and gemstones. Feathered Antler creates jewelry, knitwear, customized flannels, and more.

Many holiday season vendors offer pre-ordering for easy pickup as well as online ordering. Find their website and ‘like’ them on social media to stay up-to-date on their products and specials.

This week’s recipe: Shepherd’s Pie

Local Artisans Enrich Holiday Offerings at Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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Upper Hudson Coffee, photo by Pattie Garrett

As you pull open the doors of the Lincoln Baths Building to enter the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, an extra treat awaits. The market is hosting in addition to its usual array of locally grown and produced fruits and vegetables, cheeses, meats, milk, honey, maple syrup, and specialty goods a set of holiday vendors through December 30.

These vendors are setting up shop on the building’s second floor, transforming the space into a market within the market. They offer locally roasted coffees, craft beers, baked bread, cheesecakes, jerky, salad dressings, and chocolates. The holiday market also features artists and craftspeople who create innovative attire, metal works, fine art prints, ceramics, jewelry, watches, and clocks. And for your canine companions, look for the specialty dog treats.

The holiday market, like the Saratoga Farmers’ Market, is aimed at building relationships between local entrepreneurs and residents of the Saratoga area. In the spirit of Small Business Saturday, it gives the entrepreneurs a space to showcase and sell their goods. At the same time, it offers market shoppers seeking creative gifts for families, friends, and themselves an opportunity to find them. The goal, says market director Julia Howard, is to open up the farmers’ market – long known for the best farm fresh foods grown, raised, or produced in the region – to creators of local foods and arts of all kinds.

“We see this as a special benefit for our regulars,” Howard says, “and as a way to support the local economy even more during the holidays.”

To visit the holiday market, go upstairs, via the staircases near the Lincoln Baths entrance or the elevators located in the middle of the building. You will find vendor stalls lined up around the railings and tucked into various nooks and crannies. The atmosphere is festive, yet relaxed. Unlike the frenzy of a shopping mall, vendors are available to describe their products, answer any questions, and share stories of how they came up with their creations.

Howard notes that some space remains upstairs for additional artisans. Those looking for an opportunity to display and sell hand-crafted items can contact her at julia@saratogafarmersmarket.org.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 9 a.m.to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Its holiday market runs through December 30. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.