A little homegrown competition never hurt anybody. The West Tisbury Farmers’ Market opened its annual season on Saturday morning with 40 local vendors eager to sell their homegrown goods on the grounds of the Grange Hall. The market adds Wednesdays to the mix starting on June 22.
Live music and clear skies greeted an excited crowd ready to sample the Island’s local flavor.
“We’re all farmers and everyone’s growing the same thing,” said market manager Rusty Gordon. “It takes a year to grow something before everyone catches on and starts doing the same exact thing you do. To get ahead of everyone else, you need to do something special.”
Mr. Gordon runs Ghost Island Farm on State Road in West Tisbury, and volunteered to manage the market in 2009. With a limited amount of space it can be difficult to accommodate all of the Island’s local produce in one small location.
“We do our best to make spaces for people,” said Mr. Gordon. “If someone’s a local farmer and we feel that they should be in the market, we’ll try really hard to get them in here.”
At least two-thirds of the vendors must work as farmers on Martha’s Vineyard. Beetlebung Farm Meat, Vineyard Herbs Apothecary and Blissed Out juices and smoothies joined the group of vendors selling an array of homegrown goods including baked goods, chocolate, meats, jams, cheeses, egg rolls and vegan pizzas.
Some vendors have said they want the farmers’ market moved to the grounds of the Agricultural Hall, which has 21 acres of space. But many of the veterans, such as Mr. Gordon, have no desire to leave the Grange Hall.
“A lot of us old timers who’ve been here for a long time want to stay,” he said. “[The Grange Hall] is our home. It’s right in the middle of town, we get good business.”
Edgartown’s Lynn Daniels has seen the farmers’ market change over the past decade. It started in 1974 with few regulations on the goods sold. Ms. Daniels’ father, Robert, helped start the market over 40 years ago.
“When they first started the market, you just sold whatever you got and baked whatever you wanted,” she said. Today, vendors must prepare their food in a Board of Health certified kitchen. Vendors are not allowed to sell their goods before the 9 a.m. starting bell, and they must stay until noon, even if they sell out. Vendors rent their space for $450 for the season.
The West Tisbury Farmers’ Market continues every Saturday morning (and Wednesdays in July and August) until Columbus Day weekend, when it moves to the Agricultural Hall for its fall and winter season.
For more photos, visit Farmers' Market Offers Early Taste of New Season.
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