The New Albany Farmers Market is welcoming in the summer season with market classics – and a variety of new vendors plying tempting treats and useful services.
A few of those vendors will be familiar to those who shopped at the New Albany Winter Farmers Market in its first season this year – Truffle Tramps, selling truffles of all flavors, and Fresh Harvest Farms, with aquaponically grown lettuce.
Other new vendors include Marysville-based Mockingbird Meadows, which grows medicinal herbs and sells honey herb spreads; local cupcake and muffin shop Cupnest; Organic Greenfix, which sells green smoothies; and Oink Moo Cluck Farms, a vendor of hormone- and antibiotic-free meat, including, as the name suggests, naturally raised pork, beef and poultry.
Sharpening on Site will be at the market once a month; kitchen knives and gardening tools can be sharpened while you shop.
You can grab dinner from one of the three returning food trucks that park in the square: Pitabilities, Short North Bagel Deli and Mojo TaGo.
Local musicians contribute to the atmosphere by providing entertainment. Market directors contact local artists that they know or have heard of, including organizations such as the New Albany High School band and the New Albany Symphony.
The New Albany Farmers Market is producer-focused, which means that every merchant selling a product created that product, market co-chair Kristina Jenny says.
“That’s the nice thing; you can say, ‘How did you produce this?’ And they tell you,” Jenny says.
The market also boasts an Ohio Proud label; more than 50 percent of its products are from Ohio. All producers use very little pesticide, and some use none at all.
The New Albany Farmers Market evolved out of a determination to help New Albany residents access locally grown and produced food, Jenny says.
“It’s time that people start feeding their bodies better,” says Jenny, a nutritionist and one of three founders of the market.
This year, Jenny expects more than 40 vendors each week in Market Square. Along with the previously mentioned goods, shoppers can find honey, maple syrup, organic meat, cheese, pistachios, gluten-free products, alpaca wool products, dog food and herbs for cooking. Additionally, the community table features local nonprofit organizations each week.
Though begun out of a need for quality produce, the market has become a community gathering. The market provides opportunities for food education and a great atmosphere. Jenny says she enjoys the “Norman Rockwellian” vibe of the market – the way it brings neighbors together.
“If you visit once,” Jenny says, “you can’t stay away.”
Shop the New Albany Farmers Market from 4-7 p.m. each Thursday from June 20 through Aug. 29 in Market Square. There will be no market on July 4.
Volunteers are needed to help set up and tear down the market each week. Those interested should visit www.facebook.com/nafarmersmarket.
Morgan Montgomery is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
