By Anne Archer, Vermont Country correspondent.
Regardless of weather, May is springtime in Vermont and that means local farmers markets are moving from inside to outside.
On May 2, Bennington Community Market hosts its first al fresco Bennington Community Farmers Market of the season.
Every Saturday until October, local and regional agricultural producers, food producers, and artisans gather in front of the Bennington Community Market to celebrate their bounty while local bands and musicians entertain the crowd with music ranging from country to ‘70s classics.
In May, shoppers can find local fresh produce grown by an astounding number of dedicated, community focused farmers in the area. Items to look for include asparagus, microgreens, radishes, rhubarb, scallions, spinach, last season’s apples and parsnips, and farm fresh eggs.
June brings a continuation of May crops along with new tasty treats like strawberries, chard, peas, and lettuces.
For vendors unable to join the festivities, Bennington Community Market staff come to them, collecting local vegetables and selling them at the Farmers Market. It’s a great way to promote more farms and to bring in more items for shoppers like fresh cut flowers, pickled vegetables, and local honey.
The Market’s atmosphere is inclusive and welcoming – everyone from musicians, storytellers, and comedians are invited to participate in “Wide Open Mic” hosted by Patty Keough – and there’s always a delicious meal sizzling on the grill.
Favorite grill specials include Middle Eastern Kababs, Jamaican Chicken with mango salsa, Georgian shashlik with fresh herbs and pomegranates, American fare favorites like hot dogs and hamburgers, all washed down with fresh squeezed lemonade.
“We use local produce for specials, whatever’s coming in, whatever is on hand will show up on that grill,” said Natasha Garder Littrell, Bennington Community Market’s general manager.
Homemade sandwiches, soups, salads, specials, and breakfasts (served all day) are available in the Market during Saturday Farmers Markets and throughout the week. Many items on the menu come from Bennington’s Crazy Russian Girls Bakery recipes, like the Banh Mi with house roasted lemongrass chicken or lemongrass tempeh.
To keep meals reasonably priced, ingredients are a combination of locally sourced items and quality items purchased from the Market’s regular vendor.
“We’re always looking for a way to highlight a local farm using their meats, eggs, produce, dairy and try to incorporate that into the menu,” Garder Littrell said.
“When we have the beautiful slicing tomatoes from True Love Farm, we do an old-fashioned tomato sandwich,” Garder Littrell said. “When we can get kale from Mighty Food Farm, we use that. And when we can get The Sole Connection Farm beautiful mushrooms, we make a mushroom dish with regular white mushrooms mixed in with some of the farms amazing, gorgeous mushrooms.”
Bennington Community Farmers Market is a market with a conscious, participating in Vermont’s Farm to Family Program and Crop Cash and Crop Cash Plus Programs administered by Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). These programs help provide fresh, locally sourced food to all Vermonters.
In October, the Farmers Market will move inside the Bennington Community Market when it is held every other Saturday until the much-anticipated April showers will bring us May flowers once again.
Bennington Community Market
Located at 239 Main Street, Bennington
Phone (802) 474-2051
Outdoor Farmer’s Market May to October every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Store hours: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sundays from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Deli Counter open every day from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Online ordering and DoorDash delivery available.
Anne Archer lives in Manchester, Vt. She is a regular contributor to the Manchester Journal.
