Farmers' Markets…Not Just for Farmers

 The thought of a Farmers' Market conjures up images of fresh-off-the-farm vendors selling just-picked fruits and vegetables off the back of their trucks on a sunny summer day.

While this may be an accurate description, that's not the whole picture.

Almost half of the vendors at Thursday's Imperial Avenue Farmers' Market have a retail storefront somewhere in Fairfield County.  Local retail stores, restaurants, and even a yoga studio have set up shop at the market, showcasing their just baked breads and pies next to local tomatoes and freshly picked berries.

Lori Cochran Dougall, market manager for the Westport Farmers' Market, believes that expanding the market to include local retail and restaurant businesses is consistent with their philosophy of getting people to shop locally.

"It's great for diversity," she said. "Our whole goal is to get us back to buying local and healthy."

Nancy Roper, owner of Boxcar Cantina in Greenwich, joined the Farmers' Market three years ago at the suggestion of friends who were also in the restaurant business.  Roper sells freshly made tamales and the line at her stand suggests she has quite a following. 

"The market has changed our life," Roper said. "It's changed the way the restaurant is running and has boosted sales.  More importantly, it's also given us a vision and a philosophy to buy local."

Carter Lathrop, a college student who is working this summer as a manager and personal assistant at the Norwalk café, Sugar and Olives, says that being at the market has increased awareness and brought new customers to the restaurant.

"We don't advertise," Lathrop said. "We would rather have great word-of-mouth.  It's a lot more personal.  People come into the shop and say, 'We saw you at the Farmers' Market.'"  

Being at the market, says Lathrop, has also provided Sugar and Olives with an opportunity to showcase products that they don't sell at the store, such as crispy flatbreads and chocolaty brownies.  He says they sometimes sell several trays of brownies in one day.  Flatbreads with special dipping chutneys were available at the Sugar and Olives table for sampling alongside a selection of freshly made salads and cookies.     

Westport newcomer, Kaia Yoga, is providing both a service and introducing the Westport community to their recently opened yoga studio.  Their booth consists of a circle of miniature, multi-colored yoga mats, and bottles of bubbles for their target audience: the children of market shoppers.

"When parents are busy making purchases, kids have a positive place to enjoy their time," explained Michelle Manger, manager of the Westport studio. "We're here to make the community aware of us and let them know who we are and what we believe in."

It's not only the consumer who is benefiting from this approach to buying local.  Farmers and restaurateurs are creating partnerships as well.  

John Barricelli, owner of the SoNo Baking Company in South Norwalk, and a regular on the Today Show, has been taking his freshly baked breads and pastries on the road for four years.  Barricelli said that over time, he's developed a good relationship with the farmers that he's met at the markets he attends.

"We use the peaches, plums, raspberries, and blackberries from the local farms," he said. "We buy the produce and bring back the finished product."

Boxcar Cantina's Nancy Roper also purchases her produce from local farmers and her presence at the markets has been advantageous in creating these business relationships, she said.

"I had been trying to connect with farmers to get them to sell to me, but they seemed to be suspicious," Roper said. "They thought I wanted deals or the same products all the time. Once we started coming to the market, things changed."

The trend of bringing local businesses into the Farmers' Market is not exclusive to Westport.  The SoNo Baking Company and Ridgefield's Whistle Stop Bakery (also present at the Westport market) participate in the Branchville Railroad Station Regional Green Market in Ridgefield.  Andrea Itin, owner of Westport's Mirabelle Cheese Shop, can often be found at the Weston Farmers' Market in her reproduction of a 1940's silver tear-drop trailer, aptly named, "Cheese Wheels."   

For some, Farmers' Markets were a way to gauge how their products would be received and build a following before opening a retail location.   Martine Coscia, of Greenwich's Little Chocolate Company, said she started her business by selling her chocolate confections at Farmers' Markets before committing to a store.  

"It's a great way to connect with people and test the market,"  Coscia said.  She is a regular at the Westport market and frequently auditions new recipes there before offering them in the store.  

Annie Larkin, a representative for Michele's Pies of Norwalk, said that owner and Westport resident, Michele Albano, got her start at Farmers' Markets in Killington, VT.  Albano's baked goods have been featured on the Food Network and Larkin said that Albano only uses fresh produce in her award-winning pies.  

 Whatever the reasons for participating in the Westport Farmers' Market, the sentiments most heartily expressed by vendors there were, "community" and "feeling connected" — and isn't that what the markets are really all about? 

The Westport Farmers' Market convenes in the Imperial Avenue Parking Lot from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday through Nov. 18.