Marblehead, Swampscott go to market

MARBLEHEAD – T’is the season!The Marblehead Farmers Market opens today for its 18th season, and residents of the North Shore will soon have many options for farm-fresh local produce, meats and baked goods.”We’re the granddaddy of the North Shore I guess,” said Marblehead Farmers Market Manager Don Morgan. “There are a lot of other markets on the North Shore now, and I think that’s good, because if you can’t get to us, you can get to another one.”Farmers markets have sprouted on the North Shore as they have across the country as consumers embrace a renewed emphasis on local, fresh food, a connection with local agriculture and community building. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recorded 8,268 farmers markets operating in the country in 2014, up 180 percent since 2006, according to the agency’s January 2015 annual report on local food trends.In fact, Massachusetts was one of only a few states that saw an increase (albeit an increase of 1 percent) in the number of farms and amount of acreage in farmland between 2007 and 2012, according to the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.This year, farmers markets will open in several local communities.”We’re in our fourth summer season, and our core vendor group has returned every season; we are really pleased with that and proud our customer base has seen the core group return every year,” said Kimberley Fillenworth, co-manager of the Swampscott Farmers Market.The Swampscott Farmers Market begins Sunday, June 14 at 10 a.m. at Swampscott High School on Essex Street.There will be 15 to 20 vendors at the market held every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and offering fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, seafood and fish, and baked goods. New vendors include local fishermen offering a catch of the day and meats from Piper Ranch Farm in Buckfield, Maine.Each week there will be live music performances, four booths for local craftspeople and activities.”The whole idea is we have coffee, iced coffee, muffins, prepared sandwiches and a variety of organic ready-made stews, and you could come and stroll around and plan a week’s worth of meals,” Fillenworth said.The Peabody Farmers Market will open Tuesday, July 14 and be held every Tuesday until mid-October from 1 to 6 p.m. in front of City Hall. So far eight food vendors and crafters have committed to the market, but city Conservation Agent and Market Manager Lucia DelNegro will be accepting vendor applications until June 15.”We are really looking for community support,” said DelNegro. “I think it’s really important that a city has a market, and we have some great vendors, and I’m really excited about it.”The Food Project will be running the Lynn Farmers Market in Central Square at the intersection of Exchange and Union streets beginning in July (an official start is being confirmed next week, spokesperson Alice Poltorick said Friday.)The market will be held on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and offers food from the project’s farms in Beverly and Lincoln. The project also caters to the more diverse local community by offering speciality vegetables such as “Tongue of Fire” shell beans used in Cape Verdean cuisine, Asian cooking greens, lots of hot peppers and calaloo, according to the organization’s website.The Saugus/Cliftondale Farmers Market will be held Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Jackson Street from July through October.As for the granddaddy market in Marblehead, Morgan said 24 vendors, half of which are farms, will be returning this year. And a familiar face from a decade earlier, Lesli Qurock, will be once again offering her freshly baked pies and scones.The Marblehead Farmers Market is held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Veterans Middle School.