NH Eats Local Month: Week One

LaValley Farms in Hooksett is overflowing with our fruits and veggies, and local meat, honey, syrup, milk, baked goods and more.

Now that summer is in full swing, there’s no better way to celebrate than by getting outside and taking in the produce, baked goods, meat and flowers of your local farmers market. New Hampshire Eats Local Month is happening August 1-31, so we sat down to talk with NH Food Alliance Communications Coordinator Colleen Stewart to learn more about what is going on during the first week.

What do you have on tap for this week?
Colleen: “NH Eats Local Month has kicked off with one big, delicious bite! On Aug 1, we gathered Granite Staters together to take a big bite out of the same local food on the same day — pancakes with local maple syrup and fruit. Even Governor Sununu and Commissioner Jasper of the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food  joined in with pancakes at Woodstock Brewery Inn and maple syrup from Fadden Maple Syrup and General Store. Watch their big bite here.

The first week of NH Eats Local Month also happens to be National Farmers Market Week. From August 1-7, it’s all things farmers markets and celebrating the local vendors and farmers who make those markets so vibrant. Later this week, Governor Sununu and Commissioner Jasper will present the National Farmers Market Week and NH Eats Local Month proclamations at one of New Hampshire’s 35 farmers markets. And the theme for the weekly NH Eats Local Month Photo Contest is to share your farmers market or farm stand haul. To enter the contest, participants need to snap a photo of what they purchased at a farmers market or farm stand, post it on Facebook or Instagram, and tag @nheatslocal. Find more information and contest rules here.

Looking for a farmers market or farm stand to get your live free and eat local on? Check out the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food’s Farmers Market Guide and Farm Stand Directory, or our NH Eats Local’s Find Local Food Guide. And learn about a few recommended spots around the state below!”

Monadnock Region

Wilmot Farmers’ Market
@wilmotfarmersmarket
Town Green, 9 Kearsarge Valley Rd., Wilmot
With 19 full- and part-time vendors, this Monadnock region farmers market comes together every Saturday from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on the town green in Wilmot. Head to their website to learn more about vendors, including Huntoon Farm and Off a Bit Farm. This market accepts SNAP (Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program), participates in the Granite State Market Match program, and offers a Veteran’s Bucks program.

Manning Hill Farm
@manninghillfarm
79 Old Manning Hill Rd., Winchester
A 126-acre diversified, sustainable working farm located at the end of a scenic dirt road in the Southwest corner of New Hampshire with beautiful views of the Connecticut River Valley that offers milk, beef, pork, chicken and eggs, maple syrup, honey and hay. Visit the Manning Hill Farm Store Monday, Thursday and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. or Tuesday, Wednesday, and Fridays 2-6 p.m.

Lakes Region

Open Woods Farm at the Canaan Farmers’ Market
@openwoodsfarm
On The Common Lane, Canaan
Find this small Grafton vegetable farm and sugarbush at the Canaan Farmers Market on Sundays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Wolfeboro Area Farmers Market
@wolfeboroareafarmersmarket
233 South Main St., Wolfeboro
With over 35 local vendors, this market fills Clark Park in Wolfeboro every Thursday from 12:30-4:30 p.m. Find a mix of farms, artisans, and other food producers including Wotton Farm, The Boys Fresh Catch and Corvus Cairn Farm. This market accepts SNAP and offers a SNAP match program.

Gilmanton’s Own Market
@gilmantonsown
741 Province Rd., Gilmanton
Gilmanton’s Own Market is run by Gilmanton’s Own, Inc., a non-profit organization that oversees a cooperative market and agricultural center serving the Belknap and Merrimack county regions to promote, enhance, and encourage the interests of farming, agricultural resources and rural aspects of community life. Explore the market with a variety of food and art vendors on Thursdays and Fridays from 3-5:30 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Dartmouth & Lake Sunapee Region

Huntoon Farm
@huntoonfarm
46 Huntoon Rd., Danbury
A six-generation farm and farm stand in Danbury offering beef, pork, eggs, chicken and turkeys. The crew also makes from-scratch baked goods and prepared items in their on-farm commercial kitchen, as well as offering Granite State Candy ice cream with milk from Contoocook Creamery during the summer. The farm also vends at the Wilmot Farmers Market and sells product through Local Foods Plymouth.

Merrimack Valley

LaValley Farms
@lavalleyfarms
A farm and farm stand growing produce on 60 acres in Pembroke, Allenstown and Hooksett. Their farm stand offers meats, cheeses, honey, and milk from other local farms and food producers. Visit their Hooksett farm stand or their Manchester food cart and check the website for hours.

Warner Public Market
@warnerpublicmarket
19 E Main St., Warner
Head to Warner Public Market for fresh local produce, dairy, meat and groceries alongside sustainably sourced household goods, an herbal apothecary and handmade arts and crafts. The store runs cooperatively and also provides a vibrant space for gatherings and educational workshops. Learn more, find hours, or even shop online on their website.

Fresh Start Farms
@freshstartfarmsnh
150 Spruce St., Manchester
Operating as a collective brand for immigrant and refugee farmers participating in the New American Sustainable Agriculture Program (a program of the Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success), Fresh Start Farms works alongside new American farmers to bring farm-fresh ingredients to New Hampshire through neighborhood farmers markets and stands, wholesale, their FarmShare, and the newly opened Fresh Start Market in Manchester. The market is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2-6 p.m., accepts SNAP and participates in the Double Up Food Bucks program.

Seacoast Region

Coppal House Farm
@coppalhousefarm
118 North River Rd., Rte. 155, Lee
John and Carol Hutton run this dynamic 78-acre farm in Lee offering lamb, pork, chicken and eggs, and a variety of crops including their famous sunflower oil. In the fall, the farm hosts a corn maze and this month until around August 8, they are hosting their annual Sunflower Festival. The farm stand is open daily from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., check their website or social media for more information about the sunflower festival and other events.

Salem NH Farmers Market
@salemnhfarmersmarket
12 Via Toscana, Salem
Since 2010, the Salem NH Farmers Market has provided the local community with fresh, locally-produced foods while educating about the nutritional, economic, environmental, and social implications of eating seasonally and locally. The market recently moved to a new location at Lake Park in Tuscan Village and showcases nearly 25 local vendors each Sunday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. This market accepts SNAP, EBT and offers its own SNAP/EBT match program.

Barnstead Farmers Market
@barnsteadfarmersmarket
96 Maple St. and 614 Province Rd., Barnstead
Voted the #3 best farmers market in New Hampshire, visit this market every Saturday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Maple Street in Barnstead. Or visit the Barnstead Farm Stand on Fridays from 9 a.m.-7 p.m. and Sundays 1-5 p.m. and be on the lookout for amazing vendors, including Mountainview Farm and Shepherd’s Hut Market.

Seacoast Growers Association
@seacoastgrowersassociation
Since 1977, the Seacoast Growers Association (SGA) has provided the Seacoast region of New Hampshire with a marketplace for fresh local produce, handcrafted goods, and homemade foods and beverages. As a New Hampshire nonprofit, they currently manage the Portsmouth, Durham, Dover, and Exeter Farmers Markets with over 100 vendors.

North Country & White Mountains

Purple Tomato Market
@purpletomatomarket
78 Main St., Lincoln,
A year-round farmer’s market offering a variety of locally produced foods, fresh produce, local meats and cheeses, seafood, baked goods, sandwiches and soups. Stop in Thursdays-Mondays from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

North Country Marketplace
@northcountrymarketplace
69 Main St., Colebrook
An indoor farm stand where local farmers, growers and producers have come together since 2012. Stop by to check out the wide variety of products and producers including The Daily Haul and Huckins Farm from Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Mondays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Contoocook Farmers Market
@tookymarket
896 Market St., Contoocook
A market that operates as a community of growers, makers, and artists featuring local vegetables, fruit, egg, jams, syrup, bread, handmade soap and more every Saturday, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. This market accepts SNAP/EBT.