Thursday, June 18, 2009

Stoneham Farmer's Market

The Stoneham Farmer's Market is now open, every Tuesday through October 13, from 2pm-7pm. It is located in the rear parking lot of the Stoneham Council of Aging at 136 Elm Street, Stoneham.

I stopped there the other day to check it out and found around a dozen or so booths. There were about five booths selling fruits and vegetables, three with bread and baked goods, and booths with assorted artisans, such as soaps and artwork. The produce looked pretty good though I don't know how reasonable the prices are as I have not had much opportunity to compare them to other markets. None of the prices though seemed glaringly out of whack.

I was pleased to see Mamadou Bakery had a booth. They have a store in Winchester and produce excellent bread, in a wide variety of flavors and types. I bought a loaf of bread that was even still warm. Big Sky Bread and Bakery had a booth with plenty of bread, pastries and baked goods. They have a store in Newton though I have not been there. There products looked quite good though and I bought a couple things to try, including some large coconut macaroons which were quite moist and filled with plenty of coconut.

It is definitely worth the effort to stop by the market and check it out.

3 comments:

Marcia M. Wengen said...

Dear Mr. Auffrey

Thanks for your kind words about our Farmer's Market. The Elm Street Committee is a group of local residents who have been volunteering their time since January to launch this Farmer’s Market. Our mission is to provide locally grown fresh produce for Stoneham and surrounding communities while helping local farmers stay in business.

For your readers who remember shopping at the Cerretani's Markets in Stoneham, Melrose, Reading, Revere and Haverhill, we have a surprise.

Turns out that Bill Cerretani, who opened the original store in Melrose in 1938, has been raising vegetables on Oak Street in Stoneham for his family, friends and neighbors for the past 47 years. And now he will be joining the Farm Hill Farmer's Market in late July to sell his produce to all comers. Oak Street.....who knew!! How much more local can you get??

Stop by in July and say hello to Bill and his family as they share their passion for fresh vegetables grown right here in Stoneham. Maybe he’ll even confirm the rumor that he’s putting in a pumpkin patch this summer....stay tuned!

Regards,
Marcia M. Wengen
The Elm Street Committee
136 Elm Street
Stoneham, MA 02180
mmwe@mmwe.cnc.net

Richard Auffrey said...

Hi Marcia and welcome to my blog!

Please call me Richard.

The committee deserves kudos for putting together this farmer's market. I have been stopping by every week. And it is great to learn about Cerretani and his Oak St. veggies. I look forward to checking them out later this month.

I hope you also noticed that my food/wine column this week in the Stoneham Sun newspaper also mentioned the farmers market.

Thanks and take care,
Richard

Marcia M. Wengen said...

Richard

I did see your column and forwarded a copy to our Committee members. Please introduce yourself next time you are at the Market.
I'm the one in the straw hat sitting near the exit road, counter in hand, keeping track of the number of visitors!. 475 folks on June 30. Amazing. Regards, Marcia