05/21/2008
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Staff photo by Joe PhelanA dozen high school students have volunteered to dress up in fruit and veggie costumes for the grand opening.
"Everybody has a farmers' market, but nobody has live fruits and vegetables walking around," said Linda Edgerton, executive director of Gardiner Main Street. "The ribbon cutting is the big thing. It's at 3:30 (p.m.) and we had to wait until they got out of school."
The farmers' market will be open from 2 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday at the Brunswick Avenue park until the end of October.
Eight vendors have signed on to sell vegetables, sheeps'- and cows'-milk yogurt, breads, baked goods, flowers, seedlings, apples, fruits, berries, cheese, meat, maple syrup, honey and jams. One farmer will sell wild mushrooms as they become available.
Denis Thoet and Michele Roy of Long Meadow Farm in West Gardiner will be there selling their organic vegetables, pesto bread and jams and jellies.
"We're very excited about the opening," Thoet said Tuesday. "It's close by and in an interesting spot in a neighborhood, as opposed to the Augusta market where we have people coming from all over the place by car. People here can walk. It's on the Common."
He said the farmers' market will provide another activity for Gardiner families and provide a good variety for people looking for healthful food. And, he said, it certainly helps the participating farmers.
Thoet and Roy -- who operate a 50-member Community Supported Agriculture farm -- set aside more than an acre on their 28-acre farm for a vegetable garden. On Tuesday, apprentices enrolled in the environmental science program at Colby College helped with plantings.
The CSA program enables farms to share the risk and abundance of producing food with the consumer by selling them a share of the season's harvest. Customers who buy a share usually pay for it early in the year, then receive a weekly box of produce for a set number of weeks.
He said they booked all their shares by March and are having to turn people away.
"We can't meet the demand," he said. "People are liking it. The produce tastes good. They've been used to things they buy that comes from everywhere and has lost its flavor and nutrition along the way."
Jason Simcock, city's planning and development director, said a farmers' market has been a goal of the community for years. He said city officials appreciate the efforts of Gardiner Main Street in helping organize the outdoor market and recruit farmers.
"From watching the success of farmers' markets in other communities, it will be exciting to watch this market grow in Gardiner over time as well," Simcock said.
It's also important, he said to recognize this year's sponsor, Gardiner Family Chiropractic.
Gardiner Family Chiropractic's Dr. Paul Pidgeon said his office is excited to support a concept that satisfies the mission of his office: to help people realize a more healthy lifestyle.
His office will donate up to $5,000 to the farmers' market project this year.
"I think, nutritionally, if people chose locally organic food grown without pesticides, it's wonderful. But what's great for us is that it supports local economy. Gardiner needs to grow and its growth will depend upon people supporting their friends and neighbors," Pidgeon said.
Edgerton said the farmers' market will have a Web site that will provide updates on what will be available each week, plus healthy recipes and a blog.
She said the Web site, www.GardinerFarmersMarket.org, will be up and running within the next two weeks.
Mechele Cooper -- 623-3811, Ext. 408
mcooper@centralmaine.com
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