This weekend, my local farmers' market in Montpelier had its last outdoor market for the season. It was cold, it was gray, people sold hot soup and clustered around the wood fired pizza oven for warmth. It definitely felt like the end of the summer season.
BUT it was not the end of the Farmers' Market season! In Montpelier, like in many communities, we pick up again with a holiday market before Thanksgiving then launch into a series of indoor winter markets. When you stop to think about it, a lot of Vermont products are available even when the ground is frozen - maple syrup, honey, cheese, meat, root vegetables, fibers like yarn or felt, grains, crops we can keep in cold storage (like apples) and crops with their seasons extended through greenhouses and other techniques (winter spinach is sweet and highly recommended!). Then we have specialty foods, like spirits or jams, that capture Vermont ingredients when they're in-season and preserve them for the rest of the year.
Hot sauces made from Farmers Market ingredients by Butterfly Bakery
Farmers markets in the non-summer months can be just as festive as markets outdoors in the sunshine. There's often music, lots of prepared food for lunch or a midmorning snack, activities for special occasions like Valentine's Day or to celebrate the sugaring season, and folks are generally pretty happy to know the world isn't hibernating until June.
For your food exploring pleasure, here is a list of farmers' markets currently registered with NOFA-VT as having a winter season. If they don't have a specific winter schedule posted in their listing, visit their website to be sure you have the right dates, times, and locations - as that might change from their summer season.
And be sure to check our events page later this month for upcoming holiday markets and special market events in November and December!
