Farmers Market Spotlight: Barnstead Farmers Market
The Barnstead Farmers Market’s mission is to “promote locally grown produce and handmade products to the area towns and communities.” No matter if you drop by for two minutes or stay for two hours, you will see the importance and power of knowing where your food comes from as well as the people behind it.
Four of the Barnstead Farmers Market’s five board members are vendors, including Liz Dionne. Dionne and her fiancé own Shamrock Hill Home Gardens, a micro farm in Barnstead, and have been selling their wares at the market since it started in 2016. Having majority vendors running the market helps keep decision-making streamlined. “When discussing a new project or concern, it’s nice to get feedback from the vendors that are on the board,” Dionne says. “We all work together very well.”
Currently, Barnstead is a mid-sized market, with 20 to 30 vendors on average each week. “We have an unwritten rule that we want more food vendors, like farmers, and fewer crafters,” Dionne says before noting that there’s a good mix of products for sale. The board tries to prioritize vendors from Barnstead, but people from surrounding areas are welcome too. “We have a lot of neighboring farms that participate, and we love it,” Dionne says. “It adds a bigger variety for customers.”
On top of noticing what’s selling best, Dionne says, “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback in the last few years on what people want…and it’s definitely lots of produce and meats and breads and pastries.”
Dionne and her fiancé have pivoted to help meet those demands: While they started by selling seedlings, a lot of people came up to their booth asking if anyone was selling bread. “We thought to ourselves, there is a need for bread,” Dionne recalls. The couple already had a bread machine at home, so the following Saturday, they made a loaf to bring to the market; it sold almost immediately. Now, they have a dozen bread machines and make a wide variety of flavors, like cinnamon raisin (the best-seller), double cheese with onion and cheddar beer.
In 2023, the market moved to The Barnstead Parade, a village green that Dionne estimates is about the size of three football fields, though the market only takes up the space of one. The new location, which offers much more space and plenty of parking, is getting lots of positive feedback. As Dionne puts it: “The vibe is just so much nicer. We’re not on busy Route 28. It’s a huge village green. There’s a beautiful bandstand. There are a couple of picnic tables in the center. We have a lot of people bring their dogs. It’s just a calmer place (with) beautiful oak trees and maple trees around the edges.”
In addition to moving, the market welcomed food trucks into the fold last year. “That really brought in a lot of customers because these food trucks have a following,” Dionne says. “People will travel to go to their favorite food truck.” The plan is to have food trucks again for the 2024 season.
There’s also live music from local musicians every week. “We try to pick musicians who will provide music that’s suitable for the farmers market,” Dionne says, which means a lot of folk with some occasional country music as well.
Now that the market is in the Barnstead Parade, it coincides nicely with Old Home Day in August. In 2023, “the place was packed,” Dionne recalls. The Farmers Market and Old Home Day committees worked together to provide a day of entertainment for visitors — raffles, children’s games and award ceremonies.
“We have a lot of loyal, repeat customers, and they know what they want. They show up and they go to the vendors they want to get their things from.” Dionne says she also sees plenty of new faces each week. Though they’ve moved off Route 28, there’s still a sign pointing visitors to the market. “We’re just trying to be local. We don’t want to get too big. We want everyone to be comfortable and just have a nice time when they’re at the market.”
“We love it when people want to stop by, even if they don’t buy anything,” Dionne says. “Just stop by and walk around.”
