In 2005, a group of Lexington residents started the Lexington Farmers’ Market, creating a hub for local vendors and patrons looking for fresh, sustainable and tasty food. For 20 years, it has opened weekly in the summer months, rain or shine, becoming a community staple.
“It’s a win-win for everybody,” Leslie Wilcott-Henrie, the market’s president, said. “We love having Lexington residents who are part of our market, but also love to see people use this as a springboard and a way to test their product and see what the community wants.” Many businesses that started out at the market have opened brick-and-mortar stores and started selling in grocery stores. Boston Smoked Fish, for example, is now available all over the country.
On Tuesday, May 28, the market will open for its twentieth season with 34 vendors, including nine new stands and more than 20 who have been involved for over eight years. After 19 seasons, Wilcott-Henrie; Kim O’Brien, the paid market manager; and others on the team, have gained experience filling gaps in the patchwork of the market. Last year’s demand for mushrooms was met this year by My County Mushrooms, a grower based in Gardner, MA. Other vendors include The Roasted Granola, a bakery based in Arlington; Kelley Farm, a certified organic farm based in Shelburne, MA; and Fioritura Farm, a flower farm based in Hamilton, MA.
This summer, the market aims to launch a steering committee to allow patrons, vendors and volunteers the opportunity to provide input on the market’s role and direction. The board of directors wants to bring in new ideas, new energy, new voices and more representation of Lexington’s diversity, including the town’s large population of Asian American resident — 31.8 percent of the total population — and people interested or involved in the food assistance program.
In 2009, the market started accepting coupons from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. They also began a matching program, which is privately funded through the market. Those with SNAP benefits can match up to $15 per market. Last year, there were, on average, 42 SNAP transactions per week, totaling over $31,000 spent in SNAP coupons throughout the summer, according to Wilcott-Henrie.
Another initiative in the works will hopefully entice the youngest of the farmers’ market customers. With school out for the summer, the Power of Produce (POP) Club will provide a financial and nutritional learning experience, in which kids are given coupons for two dollars which they can only spend at stands with fruits and vegetables. The program still needs additional volunteers to get up and running.
While there are new additions to this year’s market, its foundations remain the same. From the beginning, the market has been producer-only, requiring vendors to grow, create or produce the products they sell. “When someone buys from you at a farmers’ market, it gives you the chance to tell your story, and it gives the customers a chance to learn more about you,” Wilcott-Henrie said.
Elizabeth Frary, a farmer at Copicut Farms in Dartmouth, MA, knows this firsthand. She’s been selling chicken, pork, lamb and other meat products at the Lexington Farmers’ Market for about 10 years. They often package and sell what they call “soup stock packs” that include parts of chickens that would typically be thrown away. She then gets to engage more with her customers, often passing along a recipe for bone broth.
And the market will continue to be a “community gathering space.” Comparing the market’s customer base to a Venn diagram, Wilcott-Henrie said, “we all end up in the center somehow.” It’s a place for people of different ethnicities and backgrounds to connect over a shared appreciation for food.
One of Wilcott-Henrie’s favorite moments is at the end of the market day. When the sun is setting on what is often a brutally hot or relentlessly rainy summer day, she sees people help each other pack up before they get into their cars and leave. She said that the environment is one of collaboration, rather than competition.
Frary “wholeheartedly” agrees. Market leaders are “always willing to put the work in to make the market fresh and new and interesting and exciting,” she said.
The Lexington Farmers’ Market will be open on Tuesdays from May 28 – October 29, 2024
2:00 – 6:30pm at theWorthen Road Practice Field.
