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The Aquidneck Growers Farmer’s Market Moves Indoors

Buy fresh, locally grown goodies throughout the winter

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Some call it the Persephone effect. If you haven’t brushed up on your Greek mythology recently, the short of it is that Hades abducts the beautiful Persephone and drags her off into the underworld, where ultimately she is bound to stay for a third of the year. Her angry mom Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, decides that (as angry moms sometimes do) if she’s not happy, no one else will be either. Her annual empty nest syndrome is known to us as winter, which on its slushier road salt days doesn’t quite match the poetry of this myth, but what remains true is that things don’t grow.

Why then on Saturday mornings in January is there a hustle and bustle about the old parish hall at St. Mary’s Church? Now in its second year, the Aquidneck Growers’ Market on 324 East Main Road in Portsmouth is the only winter market on Aquidneck Island, and the latest in the constellation of seven winter markets dotting the state. Even when the trees are skeletal, long after the last big surge of market shopping around the holidays, inside there is music, munchies, and even McIntoshes – a wholesome speakeasy evading the cold stare of Demeter.

On the produce side, between green-house-grown salad and winter greens, and the cellaring of hardier crops like squash, root vegetables and even apples, stands are far from barren. Some vendors even find a cozy niche in the cold, like Absalona Greenhouses, whose hydroponic setup yields crisp leafy greens when others can’t. Then there are bakers like Provencal and Olga’s Cup and Saucer who are well stocked year round. Rhode Island Mushroom Company do just fine in the dark, while for oysters of a different sort, Matunuck Oyster Farm and the Local Catch enjoy a seafood season that never ends. Finally, Pat’s Pastured and Aquidneck Farms have just what you need to put that meat on your bones.

Aquidneck Growers’ market is a Class A market, meaning farmers can only sell what they grow themselves. For Bevan Linsley, market manager of Aquidneck Growers, this local representation is imperative. She believes that the market offers something more profound than produce, stressing “it builds community” in “the dislocated life we live.” This vision of community building is far more intentional than my friendly chats with the vendors every week while my card fails to swipe. Aquidneck Growers are involved in the planning stages of an ambitious permanent sustainability center at the St. Mary’s Church site, called the Island Commons. This project looks well beyond the already successful community garden to envision nature walks, incubator plots for aspiring farmers and even a coffee shop.

Linsley believes that especially in summertime, we are reaching a point of saturation with the existing farmer’s markets. For her the way forward is not to preach to the choir of farmer’s market regulars like myself. Instead the goal is to expand the potential marketplace and bring in different people through accessibility and education. Increased accessibility comes by trying to incorporate SNAP and WIC payment in future, something, which has already enjoyed success at other markets. Likewise, education is crucial to convince unconverted locals of the multifaceted value of farmer’s markets in terms of community, sustainability, the local economy and preserving our agricultural heritage.

Perhaps most encouraging of all, the various farmers’ markets are recognizing that this is an argument they ought make together. As Linsley says, “the conversation is becoming larger.” In a recognition of shared interest, a coalition of Rhode Island farmer’s markets are meeting for the second time in March, to discuss how to articulate a single persuasive message. The increasing parade of stuffed canvas bags marching even in the face of winter suggests Rhode Island is listening.

Aquidneck Growers Market, Class A Market, Matunuck Oyster Farm, Olga's Cup and Saucer, Rhode Island Mushroom Company, Coalition of Rhode Island Farmer's Markets, the bay

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