It's Back! Beacon Farmers' Market Returns With New Access to Food and Programs

Go ahead, call it a comeback! The long-running Beacon Farmers' Market, located down at the docks by Beacon's Metro-North Station just on the other side of the stairs or track as you head down to the train, is back from its extended winter and spring break. Many of our favorite vendors are returning, selling crafted items, vegetables, and prepared food, but a bushel of new elements (a food truck? live music, anyone?) takes the market to another level. Even the footprint has grown, making use of the driveway and grassy area south of the market’s traditional spot on the docks. Head down to the Metro-North station off of Red Flynn Drive to witness the Beacon Farmers' Market's next chapter. The fun resumes tomorrow, April 24, from 10am-3pm, and every Sunday.

Finding Common Ground 

The market had been year-round for years, but has been on hold since Thanksgiving while the city searched for a new market manager. The result may have been hiding in plain sight: Now running the show is Common Ground Farm, who has participated in the Beacon market since at least 2008. The farm is based just a few miles up Route 9D at Stony Kill Farm in Wappingers Falls, and has been active throughout Beacon for a long time by way of the Green Teen program and Common Greens mobile markets, donations to the Kids R Kids food program and several food pantries, a partnership with Beacon City School District, and events like the Firefly Feast. 

Common Ground's mission has always been geared toward education and food justice, but taking over the Beacon Farmers' Market wasn't originally part of the plan. Decision-makers - within Common Ground as well as with the City of Beacon - felt that there was a lot to be gained by taking advantage of the farm's organizational support and infrastructure, according to Sarah Simon, the newly named Farmers' Market Manager who's in her second season working at Common Ground. "As a nonprofit, we can bring a different mission to the market; it's an opportunity to give access."  Sarah said. The enthusiasm within the community is already there. "Beacon should have a big farmers' market."

Education and Access 

Food insecurity is relatively high in Beacon, with many kids qualifying for reduced-price or free lunches, and seniors are also often in need. A bevy of programs at the Beacon Farmers' Market seek to help out. The most important change along these lines is the market-wide acceptance of food benefits such as SNAP, EBT, and WIC. People who use these programs can swipe a card at the market to receive tokens to redeem with vendors for fruit, vegetables, meat, and other un-prepared foods, but also seeds and seedlings for plants! Sarah, the market manager, is literally just waiting for the USDA iPad to arrive in May, and this program will be ready for action. 

New York State's Fresh Connect program will kick in an additional 40%: For every $5 redeemed in SNAP benefits, the state will provide $2 on top of that to spend with farmers at the market. Additionally, Common Ground identifies people who might benefit from the "Green for Greens" program: $4 "bucks" that can be redeemed for fruit and vegetables at the market or at other sites listed on the back of the bucks. This access helps those in need get the freshest produce, of course, but it also benefits family farmers in the Hudson Valley! 

Education-oriented groups will be frequent friendly faces at the market, with a mandate to give an experience in addition to staffing a table and handing out flyers. Bija, a recent addition to Beacon's education and Pre-K programming scene, is partnering with a farm to talk with kids about responsible meat production and consumption. On May 15, market-goers will get to see a summer program showcase from a variety of organizations, such as Hudson Valley Seed, Hudson Hills Montessori, Bija, and more. Regarding higher education for the grown-ups, Sarah says, "I would love to see what the market can become as a community forum."

Food...Want...Now!

Most vendors from last year are returning, for a total of 34 vendors booked, with a weekly rotation of 26 vendors at tables. Main Street fave Drink More Good will be back with a whole product line, and so will former market manager Dana Devine O’Malley, showcasing her Five Hens Baked Goods - hand pies, whoopie pies, cookies, and signature marshmallows in creative flavors. Common Ground and Fishkill Farms have been market mainstays for a decade or more. Joining these anchors this year is Obercreek Farm, bookending the season, as well as Starling Yards, a farm in Red Hook that grows specialty vegetables. If they’re good enough for Blue Hill, they’re probably pretty good.

Beacon-based landscape designers One Nature will sell native plants, perennials and edibles from their nursery. Some will alternate weeks; others will have specific seasons at the market. An olive oil producer will be at the market every other week, because most people don’t need to buy it on a weekly basis. Obercreek Farm will be at the market at the sometimes-chilly beginning and end of the growing season, offering robust greens from their extensive greenhouse network. 

This article is made possible in part by support from Poughkeepsie Nissan.
The new 2016 Nissan Titan XD makes for easy hauls to and from market!

For the carnivores, there will be several meat producers, and four outposts for your egg pickup. Two of the meat vendors are participants in Glynwood’s prestigious farm incubator: Back Paddock will offer beef and shiitake mushrooms, while Grass + Grit will bring pastured pork, lamb, goat and poultry to market. 

If you'd rather pick up food to eat on the spot, you'll enjoy another new feature of the market: the regular presence of a food truck. John Lekic, owner and creative force behind Hudson Valley fave L’Express, will be selling lunch made from local products at the market.

And what meal would be complete without a little tipple? Market regulars will recognize Adair Winery’s booth, but adult beverage selections will be rounded out this year with Hudson Valley producers of hard cider, mead, and spirits.

Bring Your Dancing Shoes 

It wouldn’t be a Beacon event without some music, too. The market has teamed with Beacon Music Factory to present music every week, from 12 noon to 2pm, in a wide variety of styles. The idea is to have “a music show that happens in the market, a show (emphasis on the word "show"), as opposed to just background music,” Sarah says. Fundraising efforts are under way to pay musicians. 

The Beacon love fest is evident everywhere: Hudson Valley native Daniel Wiese came up with striking new promotional designs - on a donation basis. “It reflects Beacon more than traditional farmers' market branding,” Sarah says. (Think olde-timey tomatoes and pumpkins clip art. Would that really feel like our town?) Daniel is working on the market's website, too. It's currently under construction, but fans can sign up there to receive a weekly newsletter that features vendor lineups. You'll recognize Daniel's work on another participating partner, Zero to Go, who is hosting a zero-waste initiative down at the market.

Hungry yet? The Beacon Farmers' Market is open from 10am-3pm every Sunday. If eating and walking is your thing, then head on down to the market on a Sunday.  

Yet if you're ready for brunch, A Little Beacon Blog's got a guide for that, and an entire Restaurant Guide at your fingertips as you eat your way through the day. Several of the farms you'll shop from at the Beacon Farmers' Market also work with restaurants up on top of the hill in downtown Beacon, so you'll get to enjoy the fruits of their labor in both places! Take a picture of your bounty and tag us in Instagram! #alittlebeacon