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The Farmers Market of KeeneKnow Your Farmer • Buy Local • Make the Connection ™ |
Market Location
In the summer months find us at the Commercial parking lot
off Gilbo Ave, behind the Colonial Theater.
Market Hours
Summer:May 5 to October 27
9am-2pm, Tuesdays & Saturdays
For More Information
keenefarmersmarket@gmail.com
Meet Me at the Market!
Get ready for opening day!
On Saturday, May 5, the Farmers Market of Keene kicks off its 2012 season. More than 25 vendors are expected!
The Farmers Market of Keene is open every Tuesday and Saturday from May 5 to Oct. 27, 2012, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Commercial Ave. Parking lot off Gilbo Ave. behind the Colonial Theater.
What you will find at the market
The market will start out strong this spring with fresh local vegetables, meats, cheeses, and milk, plus prepared foods, baked goods, and locally-made crafts.
Local food and crafts aboud!
Farmers Market of Keene launches 2012 season
Local farmers and crafters have been busy for weeks getting ready, and a wide array of local food and crafts will be ripe for the picking when the Farmers’ Market of Keene kicks off its 2012 season on Saturday, May 5.
“With the variety of farms, crafters, and food vendors that we expect, a family can do the week’s grocery shopping, get some plants for the home garden, have a snack while visiting the displays, and get some nice jewelry or decorative accessory for the home,” said Bill Fosher, one of three coordinators of the market and a farmer who sells his products there. “And every bit of what they buy will be locally grown or locally made.”
Held rain or shine from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Commercial Avenue parking lot behind the Colonial Theater in downtown Keene every Saturday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. from the first Saturday in May to the last Saturday in October, the Farmers’ Market of Keene is the largest market of its kind in the Monadnock Region. More than 25 vendors are expected for opening day.
In response to ever-increasing demand for locally-grown food and locally-made crafts, the Farmers Market of Keene has expanded. “The market has six new vendors who will round out the meat, cheese, crafts, and floral offerings. More vendors means a wider variety for the customers,” Fosher said.
Also new this year is a shared credit card terminal that will allow customers to use credit or debit cards, as well as EBT (food stamp) cards to make purchases at the market. Customers purchase tokens which can be used like cash at any vendor’s stand.
Vendors strive to be responsive to their customers’ needs. “Local eggs have always been a big seller at the market, and they’ll be in much better supply this year,“ Fosher said. “Several farms have increased their flocks of layers to help meet demand. That’s just one example of how both customers and farmers benefit from direct interaction at the market.”
On opening day, vendors are expecting to offer for sale:
-- fresh spring vegetables
-- local meats including beef, pork, poultry, lamb, and goat
-- fresh local milk
-- local fresh and aged cheeses
-- fresh local eggs
-- perennial and annual flower, vegetable, and herb plants
-- jams, preserves, and mustards
-- breads, granolas, and other baked goods
-- locally made wine
-- jewelry, pottery, and wooden crafts
The Farmers’ Market of Keene has strict rules about what can be sold and who can sell at the market. Vendors must be local -- meaning from Cheshire County or one of the surrounding counties -- and must produce what they are selling on their own farms or in their own studios. Prepared foods must be made in licensed kitchens, and the use of local ingredients is encouraged wherever possible.
The Farmers’ Market of Keene is an open-air market where independent farmers, growers, crafters, and cooks gather twice a week to offer their products for sale to the general public. It is a non-profit, self-funded, and member-run organization.