We had feedback from many people that they tend to forget about the market on Sundays so we’ve started a weekly email that will be sent out every Saturday morning to remind you to stop by the market on Sunday. The email will let you know what vendors will be attending, what they might be bringing and if there are any special events that week. We promise not to spam you and you can unsubscribe at any time!
Thank you to everyone who came out last week, we had a great day, our vendors were happy, our customers were happy and we were happy! Let’s keep the momentum going! We want to be clear, the market is not and was never in danger of closing, we were just trying to start a conversation with the community to get feedback and determine the reason for the lower foot traffic this season. It is normal to experience some dips & peaks and we know things will start to pick up as people get back from their summer travel and get back into the swing of things. Thank you for your continued support!
Tomato season is in full swing and these things are beauties! They are so ripe and delicious, you can just drizzle with a little olive oil and sea salt and pepper and be ready to devour them. Summer squash and zucchini is also abundant right now along with juicy peaches and plums. Try grilling them and serving with a nice steak or burger from River Rock Farm.
The corn is crisp & sweet, last week I picked up some corn and zucchini and sautéed it with a little garlic and olive oil and then added it to The Soup Guy’s Bootleg Chili and had that for lunches this week. Make sure you talk to your farmers as you shop, they love chatting with you and can often give you ideas for cooking their produce that you may not have thought of.
The kids had fun with the Beach Rock Painting last weekend so we’re going to have that activity again for those who didn’t get a chance to do it or would like to come back and decorate another one.
Vendors joining us this week: Swiss Bakers, Salem Spice, Alfalfa Farm, Cannoli Corner, Grant Farm, Ackerman Maple Farm, Next Step Living, Clark Farm, Moran’s Pet Food, Lanni Orchard, Golden Cod Fish, River Rock Farm, Long Hill Orchard, All Fruit, Pour Man’s Coffee, Pickle Emporium, Rowand’s Fish & the Soup Guy.
Our crafters this week: Kaleidoscopesoap, MJB Creations Woodcarvings, Dave Matthews Pottery.
Civic Booth: For the Love of Swampscott, Veteran’s Administration
Sign up for our weekly email list to get reminders and updates about the market!
First of all, we would like to thank everyone for all of their thoughtful and helpful comments on our last post about attendance this year. There are some great ideas that we are definitely going to take into consideration and we’ll discuss each and every one of them at our next meeting. Please feel free to continue giving feedback throughout the season, this is a community market and we want you to be a part of it. Likewise, if you’re interesting in volunteering, we’re always looking for new enthusiastic community members to join the committee. It’s a fun way to meet new people and participate in enriching the town of Swampscott.
One takeaway from your comments is that people often forget about the market and need reminders during the weekend. We are going to set up an email that will go out every weekend to remind you to stop by the market, highlighting events and vendors that will be there that week. If you would like to be added to our email list, just send us an email (swampscottfm@fastmail.fm), fill out the contact form on our website, send us a facebook message or stop by our booth on Sunday to add your name. We promise not to spam you!
This weekend we have a fun beach rock painting event planned for the kids. Bring them by to get creative while you get your shopping done!
Northshore 104.9 will be joining us providing music and Hope for Creativity will be our civic booth for the week.
We hope to see you out there on Sunday! Thank you again for your continued support!
We want to take this time to sit down with you, our market patrons and have a heart-to-heart. Unfortunately we have noticed a dramatic decline in market customers this year and we want to get feedback from everyone as to why this may be happening. We have a loyal group of volunteers who come out to work every week and take time out of their schedule throughout the year to grow the market and provide this service to the community so it breaks our hearts to see this. We have had feedback in the past that we need more produce vendors so we listened and we now have 4 large farms that come and provide an abundant selection of fruits, vegetables, plants & herbs in addition to all of our other great vendors providing goodies like cold brew coffee, maple syrup, baked goods, eggs, meat, pickles, salsa, spices, snacks, fresh fish and crafts. If the vendors don’t have the patrons to support their business and the travel to the market, we are going to lose them and along with it this vibrant market we have built.
SO, we are reaching out to you for your help. We need you to come out and support the vendors and spread the word so that your friends and families come out as well. In addition to supporting the market, we are looking for your feedback. Why are you not making it to the market this year? Is there something more you’d like to see? Are we missing something? Do you just need reminders? Will signs throughout town on Sunday help bring people in? You can either comment on this post, on facebook or email us, we’re here to listen!
We provide this service to enrich our community and support our local farms and businesses, we want it to thrive and grow but we can’t do that without your support! Thank you!!
Sincerely,
The Swampscott Farmer’s Market Committee
As we get deeper and deeper into summer you’re going to start seeing more and more at the market every weekend. We’re supposed to have another gorgeous Sunday so stop on by to grab a cold brew Iced Coffee before the beach and stock up on fresh vegetables and fish to have for dinner when you get home.
We’d also like your help in welcoming a new vendor who will be joining us at the market for the remainder of the season: Lanni Orchards from Lunenberg MA. The orchard was started 50 years ago by Pasquale Lanni and his sons. Today the farm is being operated by the third and fourth generations. They grow their own apples, peaches, pears, corn, squash, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and so much more!
For the kids this weekend, we’ll be having a scavenger hunt, bring them down for some fun following clues around the market for a prize.
We’ll see you on Sunday, 10-1!
We’re sorry that we had to cancel the market last weekend but we think everyone was a lot happier staying inside with the extreme weather. It looks like Mother Nature is going to be a little kinder to us this week and we’re going to have another gorgeous Sunday!
Come out to the market tomorrow July 5th and enjoy some free watermelon on us! Our vendors will be filled to the top with delicious goods for you to enjoy. We’ll see you there!
Due to the severe weather today we have decided to cancel the market for everyone’s safety. We hope you stay dry and we look forward to seeing you next weekend!
Sincerely,
The Swampscott Farmer’s Market Committee
WELL, it looks like we might have another wet Sunday this week but we’re New Englanders! It just means it may not be a beach day but it will certainly be a Farmer’s Market day. Grab the umbrella and come down for some fun events and a great selection of goods from the vendors.
This week we will be having Pot-A-Plant or Herb event for the kids so bring them down and let them have some fun on a rainy day.
Rich Adams will be playing some music for us and Hope for Creativity will be our civic booth for the week, they are a non-profit providing homeless kids with creative outlets.
Some highlights from our vendors:
Piper Ranch will be bringing chicken in addition to grass fed beef and pork this week.
The Golden Cod will have smoked salmon, delicious monkfish and many other fresh catch choices.
Swissbakers will bring bread and an assortment of pastries, like a flaky croissant with Swiss chocolate center (I had one on opening day and I’m still dreaming about it). They also offer gourmet sandwiches made with their famous pretzel bread. http://swissbakers.com/sb/
The Pickle Emporium will be with us this week with an assortment of unique pickle flavors.
HYPE Fashions will be bringing a fashion truck to the market on Sunday. Add a bit of glamour to your farmers market experience! www.hypefashions.com
Salem Soapworks http://www.salemsoapworks.com/, MJB Woodcarving creations and Iris Designs decorative tiles will also add an artistic flavor to the market this Sunday.
Relax with a chair massage by Nurture Massage & Wellness http://www.nurturemassageandwellness.com/
If that’s not enough to get you out of the door and supporting your local market I don’t know what will! We’ll see you there!
Sunny Garden Tomatoes will be joining us at the Farmer’s Market this weekend selling a wide variety of heirloom tomato plants.
The tomatoes are “non-certified organic”, non-GMO, non-hybrid. They use homemade compost, and local seaweed in their potting soil mix. This results in a strong & hearty plant that is more pest-resistant and produces a more flavorful fruit.
11 Heirloom Tomato varieties available:
Yellow Pear Cherry – Sweet heavy producer – indeterminate (produces until frost)
Sungold – Sweet cherry, heavy producer – indeterminate (produces until frost)
Boxcar Willy (red) – Red slicing tomato, determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
Abe Lincoln (red) – Red slicing tomato, determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
Lg Red Cherry Plum – Plum shaped large red cherry – indeterminate (produces until frost)
Beefsteak – Red slicing tomato, determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
Brandywine – Very flavorful, Red slicing tomato, determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
Cherokee Purple – Purple slicing tomato, determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
Roma – Red slicing or Sauce tomato, determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
Big Rainbow – Multicolor red, yellow, pink, slicing tomato, determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
San Marsano – Famous Italian sauce tomato, Red determinate (larger fruit, 1 heavy harvest)
5 for $25 – Mix and match!
3 for $20 – Small garden
1 for $8 -Great for beginners or experimentation – it’s fun!
Orders/quantities can be ordered for following week if desired.
Generally, cherry tomatoes provide more small fruit throughout the growing season, whereas slicing tomatoes ripen all in the same month, then die off.
Nothing is nicer than a multicolored bowl of tomato salad with fresh olive oil, balsamic or red wine vinegar, sea salt, and basil or oregano! Another favorite is toasted sourdough bread slathered with mayo and slices of fresh garden tomatoes!
Come find Sunny Garden Tomatoes at the market this weekend and stock up on these hearty tomato plants for your garden. They’ve done all the hard work for you!
Photo Credit: http://secretlifeofachefswife.com/anthologie/appetizers/bruschetta-trio
2015 OPENING DAY!!
Sunday June 14th, 10-1
Swampscott High School
The big day is almost here! Our opening day is this Sunday June 14th, same place same time as last year. This year will be even bigger and better with all of our core vendors returning along with a ton of new and exciting vendors we’ve added to the roster! In addition to the wonderful produce and meat we’ve had in the past you’ll be able to find pickles, cold brew iced coffee, hard cider, maple syrup, honey, baked goods, heirloom tomato plants, spices, soups, pasta, salsa, healthy snacks and of course more wonderful crafters!
And if that wasn’t enough to get you out there, we’ll also be having opening day activities for the kiddos! At every market this year we’ll have sidewalk chalk available to keep the kids occupied while you’re shopping and on opening day we’ll have face painting and balloon animals. Stay tuned for more kid-friendly events we have planned throughout the season.
We can’t wait to see everyone out there on Sunday, let’s make this a big opening day to show everyone how much the community appreciates supporting our local farms & businesses!
Swampscott Farmers Market 