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Downtown Manchester Farmers' Market - Urban Celebration of Freshness |
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Manchester, New Hampshire — population over 100,000 and the largest city in the state-invites business people and residents who live and work downtown to join the celebration of freshness at the Farmers' Market each Thursday afternoon from June 18 - October 22. Twenty vendors from organic farmers to farm-raised venison and winemakers, engage each and every shopper with "How're ya doin'?" and "Try the fresh berries today. They're delicious!"
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The mid-July day we visited was 90° and sunny — a bit hot for the fragile fresh raspberries and first-of-the-season corn — but all the merrier because there was music in the air and good pickings on both sides of Concord Street in the heart of the city. When asked "Why do you come to the downtown Farmers' Market?" here's what the customers told us.
"I come here every Thursday," says Michael Duffy  of Manchester. "I work right across the street and I love to support people who are making a living farming and providing
food for the rest of us." Michael continues, "You get what is in season right now. So this week it's zucchini and tomatoes, last week it was peas. I love to plan the menu around what's ripe right now."
Bernadette Dupont has "conversations with the growers about recipes and I enjoy that almost as much as buying the produce."
Richard Erskine states "The produce is great. It's fresh. It's local. It supports local farmers which in the days of high gas prices is really important. I feel that the food is safer because it's local produce and it's really good! Richard continues, "There are
organic farmers here who don't use pesticides and with the big scandal about tomatoes or whatever it was that had salmonella I trust that this is locally produced goods that are very safe."
Terry Benson of radio station WZID indicates, "I love what I get here. It's all fresh produce — much fresher than what I find in the grocery stores. It's all local. I love supporting the local farmers and my kids are always very happy when I bring home a sweet treat."
I like the interaction with the people and the questions that the people ask and the way you can describe food to them.
Producers represent the other half of a successful farmers' market. It takes dedicated farmers to satisfy these wide-ranging expectations. Here's why they chose to sell at the Downtown Manchester Farmers' Market.
Diane Souther of Apple Hill Farms "It's downtown. It's inner city. A lot of people walk to it. It's very diversified because it's within the city. We have a lot of ethnic groups that come. It's great to see the different things that they eat and what they choose. We get to know their family. We see their kids as they're growing up."
Charlie Reid — Stone Wall Farm: "I like the interaction with the people and the questions that the people ask and the way you can describe food to them."
Joan O'Connor , vendor and market manager: "You've got the working people, the doctors, the lawyers the secretaries — all these state (and federal) offices right here. They get out of work and they've got money burning a hole in their pocket and their wife or someone said 'bring home some vegetables tonight.' Well they can bring home corn that was just picked this morning or the tomatoes that are just coming into season. So I think it's the fun part that it is in the city. We're one block up from Main Street. And with all the press that we get you know people are (aware of) Manchester Farmers' Market."
It means everything giving food to people. I get emotional about it.
To prove the point, the headline on the front page of the New Hampshire Union Leader , New Hampshire's only daily newspaper, read "Eating Locally, NH seeks consumer-farm link". A color photograph of farmer Tim O'Connell from the Butternut farm in Milford announces he is selling produce at the Farmers' Market in Manchester. You can't buy publicity like that.
Diane and Chuck Souther , Apple Hill Farm receive the inside spread of the Concord Insider celebrating the pick-your-own season for blueberries and raspberries. And radio station WGIR promotes the market through press releases plus Joan O'Connor, tells us the on-air FM talent "puts in little freebies for us like she wants to get to the market because she heard there were fresh flowers today and so she's rambling on about the Manchester Farmers' Market."
So how did this all come about? Charlie Reid, a dedicated organic farmer and New
Hampshire native, relates the story:
"The city of Manchester called me 12 years ago and they were trying to keep local
businesses in downtown Manchester. Everybody was going out to the malls to go
shopping. There were empty buildings and stores all up and down Elm Street which is the
main drag in Manchester. And so they put this committee together called 'For
Manchester.' They were trying to think of something for Manchester. And somebody
went to the library and found some old photos of a farmers market in downtown
Manchester. So they said jeez why don't we do that? So somebody on the committee
heard about me, (and) called me. I jumped in the truck and raced right over, sat down
with these people, went out the front door, picked a street right there on the street and
said can the city block this off? Which they did and they've been a huge help since then.
And now the whole city has come around. We had our little 12th year anniversary the
other day. I called the mayor I got him over there for the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Lorraine Merrill our commissioner of Agriculture — invited her down to do the little
ribbon cutting. We had a big cake there. And all kinds of people and the TV crews were
all there. So it's an exciting thing to do. The children can learn things because these kids
in cities, they have absolutely no idea what a live chicken looks like. So we need these
kinds of things and we need people to be eating fresh food."
We asked Charlie what key ingredients make a successful farmers' market. Here's what
he told us. "Communities, cities — help support your local farmers. Find a place that has
good parking, good visibility, bathrooms — the institute of art and the Manchester city
library allow us to use their bathrooms which is really important! The parking lot next to
the market — they allow us to use it for free parking. They block off the roads. They put
cones up. These things are vital."
We asked Charlie what it means to be a farmer at the Manchester Farmers Market and
with a tear he haltingly stated "It means everything giving food to people. I get emotional
about it."
With Charlie and Joan at the helm, the Downtown Manchester Farmers' Market will
continue to satisfy the fresh local food needs of the city and region. Drop by on a
Thursday afternoon and see if you don't agree. You'll be very impressed — It's small but
the food is delicious and the feeling is even better.
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