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Wednesday Market

Saratoga Farmers Market Expands Compost Collection

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By Himanee Gupta

 

Are you a Saratoga Farmers Market regular who arrives each week with shopping bags as well as a can of kitchen scraps for our compost collection bin? If so, thank you! 

Thanks in part to you, we’re expanding our compost collection efforts.

The market has partnered with a Saratoga-based small business Loving Earth Compost, to create a “Scraps to Soil” project at its Wednesday market. Loving Earth owner Hope LaBonty provides a bin for collecting food scraps and other compostable items each week. This material will be taken to Loving Earth’s composting facility to be turned into soil. That soil will be bagged and returned to the market in late fall. The market will then make it available to all of you on a donation basis.

Such soil is a perfect addition to backyard or container gardens, says LaBonty.

Hope LaBonty

LaBonty grew up in western Massachusetts and is a member of the Wampanoag Tribe and has various ancestral European roots. Everyone in her family had gardens and believed in fostering connections between people, plants, and the earth. A desire to pursue those connections led LaBonty to the University of Maine to study ecology and environmental science and eventually to Upstate New York, where she has lived for about a decade with her family. 

She took over ownership of Loving Earth in March 2022. The compost collection business currently services more than 100 households in Saratoga.

LaBonty describes the exchange of scraps for soil as an act of reciprocity.

“A lot of people don’t have access to a lawn or backyard they feel comfortable composting in, but they still want to be part of this movement toward being more environmentally conscious,” she explains. “They want to be contributing to soil health and toward mitigating climate change, all of which can be done through composting.”

Compost is a valuable aspect of the regenerative agricultural methods used by many Saratoga Farmers Market vendors. I am one such vendor. My farm’s co-owner Jim Carlson has been transporting compost brought to the market to our farm to generate topsoil. This year, the market’s pilot project with Loving Earth is part of my activities as SUNY Empire State University’s Turben Chair in Mentoring. As part of this work, Loving Earth will offer an informational table and one-hour workshop from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on June 7 and an activity during the Wednesday market’s summer Power of Produce Club for children on July 17 to teach children and families about the benefits of composting.

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 Kicks Off Outdoor Season at High Rock Park

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By Julia Howard

 

It’s finally here! For the first time in three years, Saratoga Farmers’ Market vendors will set up their stalls in the greenery of High Rock Park for the first week of May. The farmers’ market’s long-held tradition of moving outdoors in the spring will begin again.

What better way to kick off the new season than with a celebration? On Saturday, May 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., area residents are invited to High Rock Park as the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s 45th season opens. Market-goers are invited to join local farms and businesses for a  ribbon cutting just before 9 a.m. Then, the market bell rings, music fills the air, and vendors begin offering fresh vegetables and fruits, meats, eggs, baked goods, prepared foods, and much more.

Burger Farm by Eric Jenks

“We are all very excited to return to High Rock Park for our 45th year in operation! We have a great lineup this year of vendors, including many who are returning and several who are new to our market,” says Mark Bascum, the market’s president. 

About 80 vendors will participate in the Saturday market. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market also operates on Wednesdays, from 3-6 p.m., with about 30 vendors.

Photo By Eric Jenks

Bring your shopping list and walk, bike, or drive to High Rock Park, where, twice a week, vendor stalls fill the pavilions and spill out onto the lawns. Grab a coffee made with locally roasted beans and perhaps a light breakfast from one of the many prepared food vendors featuring items like breakfast sandwiches, pastries, and single-serve yogurts with fruit.

And shop.

 

This year, we encourage you to visit the market via bicycle, if feasible. Purchase a Bike Benefits sticker at the market information table, and earn a $2 coin with every ride to the farmers’ market. We also invite you to bring your reusable shopping bags to reduce waste and the market will have totes available for purchase. We continue our compost collection program and will accept fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, and similar items. We have an ATM on-site, and most vendors accept credit cards. We also accept SNAP benefits.

While shopping, check out the children’s activities like free face painting, and enjoy live music, and information from local non-profit tables.

See you there!

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. at High Rock Park in downtown Saratoga Springs. Find us online at saratogafarmersmarket.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

 

A fresher way to get through the week

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By Emily Meagher

Market at High Rock Park, photo by Pattie Garrett

Weekend farmers’ markets are a great way to unwind from the week, spend time with family and friends, and stock your fridge for the week ahead. But there’s no need to wait until the weekend to do this – the Saratoga Farmers’ Market’s midweek market, rain or shine, on Wednesdays, 3-6 pm, offers a way to get the freshest foods – usually picked off the land the day before or even that morning.

This year’s return of the midweek market to downtown Saratoga in High Rock Park offers a more intimate, slower-paced alternative to the Saturday markets. Product offerings include fresh produce, plants and flowers, eggs, baked goods, prepared foods, tool sharpening services, and more.

Scotch Ridge Berry Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

Vendors appreciate the market’s different characteristics. “Midweek markets are a great opportunity for farmers since it provides a platform to sell your freshest products that otherwise might not make it to the weekend,” says Charles Holub, owner of Scotch Ridge Berry & Tree Farm. He notes that since his farm doesn’t use pesticides or herbicides, they must pick berries every other day to avoid critters. “And naturally grown fruit doesn’t keep long after picking – just a day or two – so these midweek markets let us sell more of our product,” Holub adds.

For customers, the smaller size of the Wednesday market is a draw, especially this year. “Many customers prefer the smaller crowds – plus it makes it easier to have more meaningful personal interactions with customers,” says Becky Dennison of Shushan Valley Hydro Farms. “Since there’s less traffic, products don’t sell out as quickly, and there’s not such a rush for customers to get to the market. The atmosphere is very laid back,” adds Charles Holub.

Owl Wood Farm, photo by Pattie Garrett

A family-friendly affair, this season’s Wednesday markets will offer the Power of Produce Club with themed activities for children of all ages (running June 30th through September 1). Market-goers can also expect weekly live music and community guests (including the Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardeners offering gardening tips and soil testing every third Wednesday of the month). Also, on Wednesday, July 21 and Wednesday, August 11, representatives from the Office for the Aging will hand out free Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program coupons to be spent on fruits and vegetables at the farmers’ market.

Visit the Wednesday market every week, 3-6pm at High Rock Park!

This week’s recipe: Pasta with Spring Vegetables

Psst… Some of the best things happen on Wednesdays

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

Burger’s MarketGarden, photo by Pattie Garrett

Weekends are market days for many farmers. But the Saratoga Farmers’ Market would like you to let you in on a secret – there’s a midweek market, as well.

Tucked into a corner of the Wilton Mall parking lot is the Wednesday market, featuring about 15 local farmers and prepared food vendors. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., they offer eggs, fresh produce, plants, baked goods, and prepared foods.

“It’s our best-kept secret,” says market board president Beth Trattel. “A simple way to pick up the freshest foods in a safe, no-fuss environment.”

In years past, the market association promoted its Wednesday market as a family-friendly space to gather for music, children’s games, and food purchases. This year, with COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings in place, live music and games are on pause. But farmers are still coming.

518 Farms mushrooms, photo by Pattie Garrett

Who’s there and what are they bringing? Here’s a snapshot.

As you enter the market from the former Bon Ton parking lot, flowering plants and other seedlings from Burger Farm greet you. Nearby, Shushan Valley Hydro Farms offers hydroponically grown herbs and vegetables. Surrounding Shushan are baked confections from The Chocolate Spoon, casseroles from The Food Florist, and Mediterranean meals to go from Euro Delicacies.

Further into the market are more farmers: Owl Wood Farm and Gomez Veggie Ville with their colorful piles of vegetables; eggs, chicken, and more vegetables at Squashville and Green Jeans farms; mushrooms and lavender at 518 Farms; and apples and cider of both the sweet and hard type from Saratoga Apple. On another end, you’ll find My Dacha Slovenian Café with its meals-to-go offerings. And tucked in between other stalls are Saratoga Garlic with its pickled garlic and aioli offerings, Gifford Farms with produce and baked goods; and Mister Edge’s popular knife sharpening service.

Gomez Veggie Ville, photo by Pattie Garrett

More vendors will start attending as the state eases its COVID-19 restrictions.

For now, Wednesday remains a great space to get the fresh ingredients for one or two meals, perhaps a prepared meal for Friday, and a few sweet treats. Try carrots dipped in aioli , scrambled eggs with arugula, radishes and lettuce tossed in a salad, and more.

 

See our full listing of this season’s Wednesday vendors

Wednesdays at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

When the opening bell rings at 3 p.m. next Wednesday at High Rock Park, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market will begin its 41st season.

The Wednesday market runs May 1-October 30, from 3-6 p.m. Like the Saturday market, it offers a wide array of amazing foods fresh from our region’s local farms, along with locally made wines and spirits, art, and meals to go.

For many market regulars, the Wednesday market is the farmers’ market at its best. It offers an opportunity to browse at a leisurely pace, planning a few nights’ meals while listening to local music, and taking part in a series of all-ages activities.

Earn a $2 Bicycle Benefits coin each time you ride to the Farmers’ Market

“The intimate size of our midweek market creates a more relaxed pace,” says market activities coordinator Julia Howard. “It’s a little more spacious, airy. It’s a great way to meet up with friends.”

This year, the market is celebrating eight new vendors:
● Goode Farm, fresh and dried flowers and wreaths;
● Slate River Farm, herbs, meats, eggs, and seasonal ramps and fiddlehead ferns;
● High Peaks Distilling, spirits;
● Italian Market, pasta sauces;
● Alaturco Mediterranean Grill, gyros;
● Oliver’s Café, crepes and kettle corn;
● Left Field, snow cones; and
● Vedanta du Mas Designs, art.

As always, the Wednesday market will offer free music, children’s activities, its Power of Produce Club, and information booths. About 20 other vendors – ranging from small farmers to local artists and food entrepreneurs – will be returning to the market, as well.

Power of Produce Club at the Wednesday market

The Tisch Family Band will serenade market visitors on opening day. Throughout the season, the market will participate in the Bicycle Benefits program, and host tours. Market staff also are planning to organize monthly bus trips for Saratoga seniors.

As a shopper and a farmer, I look forward every year to the start of the Wednesday market. It evokes the historic roots of Saratoga’s producer-only market and the region’s agricultural heritage. I enjoy talking to vendors as I fill my bags with great foods for a few days before I return to the market Saturday to replenish.

Alexander’s Bakery Makes Allergen Free Treats Its Focus

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By Mariah Rankin

 

Vicki Brignati always loved to bake. But when her son Alex was diagnosed with severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and peas, her baking took on a different meaning.

“Her life became devoted to learning everything there was to know about food allergies and keeping him safe,” says Kristen Poulin, who co-owns Alexander’s Bakery with Brignati. “Alexander’s Bakery was created with a simple premise – everyone should be able to enjoy baked goods safely.”

Brignati and Poulin brought Alexander’s Bakery to the Saratoga Farmers’ Market this year. At their stall, located on the north end of High Rock Park on Wednesdays, they offer a range of baked goods, all of which are free of such allergens as peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish. They also sell at the market’s Clifton Park location on Mondays.

Alexander’s Bakery’s goods also are vegan and gluten-free. In this sense, Brignati and Poulin represent a small but growing group of prepared food businesses that are dedicated to creating foods anyone can eat.

“We quickly realized that we were filling a gap,” say Brignati and Poulin.

“We have been so warmly received by people with food allergies and sensitivities. They have told us many times how happy they are that we exist. We’ve also been well-received by many people who do not have food allergies or sensitivities. They simply love our products.”

Among the favorites is a whoopie pie that also is vegan, gluten-free, and made without the major allergens that plague many residents of the Capital area and others nationwide.

In addition to eliminating allergens, Brignati and Poulin try to take advantage of local, seasonal ingredients whenever possible. They debuted an iced blueberry lemon cookie at the market’s blueberry festival in late July. As fall approaches, they’re looking forward to unveiling iced pumpkin spiced mini muffins and apple cinnamon granola. The latter features locally grown apples that Brignati and Poulin dry themselves.

The pair describes the summer and their decision to sell at three farmers’ markets as a big step. They look forward to continued growth through the fall and next year.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at High Rock Park. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and check us out on the FreshFoodNY app. E-mail friends@saratogafarmers.org for volunteer opportunities.