Sandwich Farmer's Market, Cape Cod

**PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW HOURS FOR SUMMER 2010**: 9:00AM-1:00PM
Open Tuesday mornings, June 1st thru Oct 26th, 2010,
Come every Tuesday all summer long to browse and buy locally grown and/or produced goods such as: local produce, vegetables, fruits, honey, eggs, breads, cheeses, oils, vinegars, pastries, live lobsters, potted plants, cut flowers, herbs, soaps/ lotions, gifts, souveniers and so much more! Good for the community...good for you!

NEW LOCATION:

WIC/Senior Coupons accepted

A growing trend

SANDWICH -

Sandwich has joined the movement toward farmers markets with the opening of the Tuesday market at Oak Crest Cove field. Farmers from throughout Massachusetts set up shop on the open field June 17 to sell fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, cheeses, vinegars, baked goods, and organic candles among other things. The Sandwich High School Jazz Band played a variety of tunes to help kick off the event. Sandwich resident Rebecca Soares has been working with the town for two years to establish a farmer's market in town. Soares grew up on a farm in upstate New York and shopped almost exclusively at local farmers' markets. She said homegrown fruits and vegetables are free of pesticides and taste better than store bought produce.
"I grow my own vegetables and I can tell you there is a huge difference between store bought and homegrown," Soares said. She said the Oak Crest Cove field is an ideal location for the market because there's room for a lot of vendors and enough space for parking. She said she will continue to recruit more vendors until the farmer's market closes for the year on Oct. 28. Soares was pleased with the turnout on opening day but says she's open to new ideas about how to organize the market.
"I'm new to this. I've never run a farmers' market and I am very open to advice," Soares said.
Andy Pollack, who owns Silverbrook Farm in Dartmouth, has farming in his blood. His family bought their farm in 1953 and has participated in farmers' markets for many years. He said farmers markets are important because they "buoy local agriculture" and, unlike most supermarkets, sell vegetables that aren't saturated with petroleum.
"The statistics are that when you shop at [a supermarket], for every one calorie of food, you get 10 calories of petroleum. It's very different when you're buying locally."
Pollack said the number of farmers markets in the country has skyrocketed in the last few years because people want to support their local economies and don't like the impersonal atmosphere of the supermarket.
"When you look at people walking around [at a farmers market] they're smiling. They're interacting with each other," Pollack said. "It's really great for the farmers because it gives us a chance to sell at a higher price instead of wholesale. We can't compete with cheap labor, cheap land, cheap water, but what we can do is give a really top quality [product] to our neighbors."
He said people also support farmers markets because they bring local communities together.
"It used to be 100 years ago that there were churches and community groups and areas where people had community-like experiences. Those have disappeared overtime and [the farmers' market] is one that people desire more and more."
Andrea Shaw of the Rochester-based company Earth Sisters said farmers markets are an ideal venue to attract customers that want "pure products." The family-run company makes organic soaps and candles, all natural bug and tic repellent, massage oils, and bath salts. She said many people develop allergic reactions from chemicals in non-organic soaps and candles.
"Our main thing is to provide pure products for people. We just want to reach out to people and let them know that they can buy things that are good for them instead of buying other things that come from miles away and cost more money," Shaw said.
Sandwich High School Music Teacher James Thomas said playing at the market was a great experience for his students. He said playing instruments like trumpets and trombones outside is entirely different than playing indoors.
"If your want to go on in music you're going to play a lot of these types of events," Thomas said.
He said the vendors and customers appreciated that the band came out to play for the event.
"I think the band can be - at its best - a reflection of the values of the town. The community's always responsive to what we're doing."
Selectman Chairwoman Linell Grundman, who cut the ribbon to open the market, said the town has worked hard to help Soares organize the farmers market. She said it brings back memories of "small town America.
"It brings us together as a community. It's supporting the environment, it's a community event and the setting is spectacular."

Farmers Market Up And Running

SANDWICH -

The sun shone brightly on Tuesday afternoon for the opening of the town's inaugural farmers market.
At 2:30 PM, before the celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony even took place, the parking area was filling up quickly, as more cars poured into the empty field next to the Oakcrest Cove property on Quaker Meetinghouse Road. With the sounds of the Sandwich High School Jazz Band filling the air, the event proved to be the family-focused event that organizer Rebecca S. Soares of Sandwich had envisioned when she began planning this venture.
Chairman of the board of selectmen Linell M. Grundman had the honor of cutting the ribbon to open the market. She offered up praise to Ms. Soares, saying, "I thank her for organizing this. It was brilliant for you to think of this." Selectman Frank Pannorfi could not help but make a bit of a pun when he said, "May it be fruitful and successful."
More than a dozen vendors set up their wares under tents. While the market's intent was to give residents an opportunity to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables, freshly picked the same day, the market also served as a venue for small business owners to build their client base and even begin a new business.
Sandwich resident Lisa K. Davis who owns a home-based bread-making business, leased a table at the market. Ms. Davis explained that she typically reaches her customers through word of mouth, but this market was an opportunity to reach even more people.
For Gretchen Phillips of Sagamore Beach, this market represented an opportunity to start a business, using her culinary talents in the area of pie and bread baking. With her 3-year-old son Reese at her side helping to set up the table, and 4-month-old son Cameron in her arms, Ms. Phillips said when she learned that this market was opening, she decided that her family should not be the only recipients of her baking expertise and this could prove an ideal opportunity for her to make a little extra money, while raising her two children.
Other vendors sold freshly caught lobsters, homemade jams, and jarred pickles, and, of course, vegetables, fruits, and fresh herbs.
People meandered about looking at the variety of items, with some vendors offering a sample before customers committed to purchasing. Some people left with fresh fruits, such as strawberries, while others took advantage of the opportunity to purchase potted plants.
The town's health inspector David B. Mason visited the site as well. Mr. Mason said he was there to ensure that all of the vendors had the proper vendor permit. He said anybody who is considering leasing a table should be sure to secure that license first, which is available by visiting the town offices on Jan Sebastian Drive.
Ms. Soares said she was pleased with the number of vendors who took part in the market's opening day and is expecting even more vendors to come on board, as the season progresses and a larger variety of locally grown fruits and vegetables become available. She is planning to keep the market open through October, when some of her favorite fall vegetables, such as squashes and pumpkins, will be ripe and ready for the picking and selling.
As with any new venture, Ms. Soares had much to contend with right up until the last minutes before opening. Early in the planning stages, she was hoping to hold the market at the Town Green, just across from the state fish hatchery. But the state would not give her permission to do so, citing a concern about an increase in traffic and lack of parking spaces.
That's when the town stepped in and gave her permission to use the open field next to the Oakcrest Cove property for the market. She had planned to use the lot at the Pop Warner field for parking. However, the town was concerned about the number of people crossing such a heavily traveled road. She then approached Pop Warner to ask if she could use that site for the market. But then the town told her it would be permissible for cars to park on the right side of the vacant field and for vendors to set up on the left side. With all of the details ironed out, Ms. Soares opened the market on the lot next to the Oakcrest Cove property. She hired a policeman to direct traffic and, with such a successful start for this business, she plans to hire the police detail every week throughout the season.
The farmers market will be open on Tuesday afternoons, from 2:30 to 6:30, through October 28.

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