The Bowdoinham Farmers Market is up and running at the Mailly Waterfront Park on Main Street.
The market, which offers organic vegetables, fruits, plants, meat and more from local vendors, is open from 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays from June to October.
“We are excited that the farmers market is back,” said Wendy Rose, chair of the Bowdoinham Community Development Advisory Committee. “We are looking forward to reaching out to more people in the community. The town committee is trying to promote these farms in all possible ways.”
There are eight vendors, including three new ones, this year.
The market’s opening on June 5 was “awesome,” local vendor David Asmussen said. “We had a great group of regulars returning and lots of new faces too. It’s really wonderful to see everyone again after the winter, and this spring in particular feels like we’re coming out of hibernation.”
Asmussen, who owns Blue Bell Farm in Bowdoinham, grows a variety of organic vegetables. “Our most popular produce is salad greens, tomatoes and cucumbers,” he said.
David Asmussen at his farm. Wendy Rose
Asmussen plans to try growing different types of fruits and vegetables this year: “I am excited to try growing cantaloupes and okra this year. I grew cantaloupes on another farm and the taste of a truly fresh ripe cantaloupes is incomparable. Okra is a wild experiment, I am trying to grow it after one customer kept bugging me about it.”
Shane Patrick of Pleasant Pond Orchard will be a new face among the group of vendors at the farmers market this summer.
“Our farm stand won’t open until the end of July, that is when the first of our fruits will start to ripen. Because it’s our first year, we have humble plans to sell fresh fruits and pressed ciders,” Patrick said.
The small family-owned orchard grows 50 varieties of apples, pears, plums, cherries and a few peaches. They also grow highbush blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and concord grapes.
Patrick said he hopes to get to know the community better and develop relationships with customers through the town’s market. “We want to contribute quality offerings to the market and become members of the local food-farm culture, he said.
Kate Del Vecchio and Rich Lee, owners of Tender Soles Farm in Richmond, are also new to the market this year. Tender Soles is an organic, horse-powered vegetable, herb and flower farm that focuses on farm education.
“The farmers market is giving us an opportunity to know the local community better,” Del Vecchio said. “We want to reach out to more people in the coming days with our fresh produce, especially flower bouquets.”
While a handful of local farmers participate in the town’s farmers market, many others have their own farm stands and stores, according to Rose. A majority of produce from local farms is also used in area restaurants, she said.
Del Vecchio also said the farmer’s market accepting of EBT and SNAP payments is a great initiative to offer people more access to healthy food options.
Similarly, the Bowdoinham Community Development Initiative, supports local business, art and community initiatives, has helped local farmers purchase equipment or other farming needs through its loan program.
As part of it’s COVID-19 community response funding program, the nonprofit organization awarded approximately $27,370 in grants to people in the Bowdoinham community whose work supported the initiative’s core mission in the last year, according to the organization’s website.
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