Farmers markets promote healthy living locally

NORWICH – Most people come to the Chenango County Farmer’s Market with one item in mind, market President Ellen Adams says, but they almost always end up leaving with a full bag.

Adams attributes the trend to the market’s 15 to 30 vendors who try to keep a good mix of products, like locally produced eggs, meat, produce, flowers, herbs, baked goods, maple syrup, jams, jellies, soaps and crafts.

“Our main goal is variety,” Adams said. “It’s a one stop shop, really.”

This week, August 5-11, is National Farmer’s Market Week.

The Chenango Market, located in the East Side Park in downtown Norwich on Wednesdays and Saturdays 8 a.m. to around 1 p.m., has been operating since 1933. Adams says where the market used to be a main source of food, it’s now become an alternative to big box shopping.

“Our vendors who grow vegetables sell them fresh from the garden to the consumer. It gives people a chance to buy fresh and eat healthy,” she said. “It hasn’t been in a store for long time or trucked from across the country. There’s no middle man; it’s sold direct.”

The push for locally grown products is evident in two on-going programs being ran through two local non-profit organization, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County and Opportunities for Chenango.

Cornell has created “A Guide to Locally Grown Products,” an inventory of products and map that shows where they’re made, and OFC has introduced its Bullthistle Bounty Card, a discount card that encourages purchasing local products, which is not limited to food.