A few weeks ago, we told you about the Grand Street CSA, a weekly food cooperative that distributes farm fresh produce to its members on the Lower East Side. But there’s another option for local, fresh food: the Grand Street Greenmarket. It opened quietly over the July 4th holiday weekend, but was in full swing yesterday on the stretch between Essex and Norfolk, on the north side of Grand Street.
The Sunday-only market features about five vendors, all from farms within driving distance of New York City. Yesterday, the stalls showcased squash, red leaf lettuce, carrots, garlic, red and white onions, blueberries, blackberries and cherries. There were also greenhouse tomatoes- it’ll be awhile before the delicious summer tomatoes are harvested. The largest vendor is Phillips Farms of Milford, New Jersey. Also represented are: R & G Produce (Goshen, NY), Meredith’s Bread (Kingston, NY) and Toigo Orchards (Shippensburg, PA).
Market Manager Oscar Perpinan and Gabriella Blavatsky were busy sauteeing some beautiful carrots and onions for a tomato sauce yesterday. They’ll be doing cooking demonstrations most Sundays. Oscar told us they really want to get the word out this year that the market accepts food stamps. There’s a terminal available to swipe a recipient’s EBT (electronic benefit transfer) card.
The LES/Grand Street market is open from 8-4 every Sunday through November 22nd. For more information on the city’s Greenmarket program, see this link.
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