Farmers markets open for season

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Beacon Falls resident Lillian Smith bags some beets at the Beacon Falls farmers market June 27. –LUKE MARSHALL
Beacon Falls resident Lillian Smith bags some beets at the Beacon Falls farmers market June 27. –LUKE MARSHALL

BEACON FALLS — As fruits and vegetables come into season area farmers are ready to sell their harvests.

The Beacon Falls farmers market opened June 20. Business was brisk last Friday despite there being only one vendor on site.

Economic Development Commission Chairman Jeremy Rodorigo said he was pleased with how busy the first day was and expects more vendors this week.

“It’s going well. A lot of people are showing up to purchase,” Rodorigo said. “As more vegetables and produce start being available you’ll see more farmers and a larger selection.”

The market is open every Friday from 3 until 6 p.m. next to Beacon Hose Company No. 1 on North Main Street. It will run through the end of October.

Anyone interested in becoming a vendor can email Rodorigo at jrodphoto@comcast.net.

Debbie Spader of Gazy Brothers Farm in Oxford set up her stand for the opening day. She said people continually stopped by.

“It’s going great,” Spader said. “They are coming in little bits and pieces.”

For Naugatuck resident Tammy Hescock, who was picking up some produce last Friday, shopping at the market is an annual tradition.

“I always shop here every year until my gardens are growing. I love it,” Hescock said. “It’s better than the grocery store.”

For Beacon Falls resident Christine Brohme the market is not only a place to get fresh produce, it is a prime example of country living.

“I moved here from Manhattan a year ago. This is like a paradise for me to see fresh vegetables and fresh fruit because it doesn’t exist in Manhattan or, if it does, it’s very expensive. It’s part of living in the country. That’s why I moved up here,” Brohme said.

Rodorigo hopes to have a handful of constant vendors at the market for patrons to choose from.

“Last year we had four steady farmers. You don’t want to over saturate the market with farmers, especially in a market like ours,” Rodorigo said. “This way the farmers are happy and the customers are happy.”

Naugatuck’s annual farmers market opens on July 9 at 10 a.m. on the Town Green. It will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Sundays through October.

Naugatuck Mayoral Aide Ed Carter said there will be two vendors to start with, though he expects more to join as the season progresses.

Carter said the market is not only a place for people to buy produce, but a way for farms to come into the community.

“It’s an outreach from the Connecticut farming industry. It is a way for outreach in the state,” Carter said.

Rodorigo said there’s nothing fresher than produce at a farmers market.

“Summer time in Connecticut is a great time to enjoy fresh picked, locally produced fruits and vegetables,” Rodorigo said. “You can’t get them any fresher. Sometimes they are picking them that morning to sell that afternoon.”