Farmers markets are fun for customers. But they also play an important role in the economy of a town, not to mention a major financial benefit to local farmers and food vendors. The New Marlborough Farmers Market opened last Saturday (May 6), while Great Barrington and Pittsfield inaugurate their farmers markets this Saturday, May 13.
Farming in Columbia County has changed remarkably in the last 25 years. When we got started, there was just Ted Dobson, Hawthorne Valley, and us. Today? Every little town has a farmers market.”
-- Martin Stosiek of Markristo Farm
In her letter, Joyce Scheffey of Great Barrington writes: "The CSA is a good way, perhaps the only way, for a community to ensure its food well into the future."
There will be more than 40 vendors at the holiday markets. Booths for farmers are so popular that there is a waiting list for vendors. The Berkshire Grown holiday markets have built a solid reputation for quality of merchandise.
Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system as do the other members of the brassica family –- broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprout.
Twenty years ago, in 1994, there were only 1,755 farmers' markets in the U.S. By 2013 the number had jumped to 8,144, and this year promises even more.
