Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market

Grab some of the sweetest strawberries you’ve ever tasted and some of the brightest, freshest greens and veggies just out of the garden while you give a listen to a local musical performance and delight in an old fashioned homemade cookie or artisan cupcake before you go back to your daily grind.  All of this locally provided sustenance, entertainment, and more unfolds and transforms City Plaza on Fayetteville St. on Wednesdays from 10am-2pm through October 27 during the Raleigh Downtown Farmers Market.

Here you’ll find North Carolina farmers, ranchers, fishermen, nurserymen, bakers, cheese makers, and specialty foods producers, most of them providing their products from less than 100 miles away.  This means within a day of the food being picked, it can be on your dinner table.  And that means fresher food with higher levels of nutritional value.  For instance, don’t be afraid to ask the farmers at the market how their foods were produced.  They’ll be the first to tell you everything you could possibly want to know about any chemicals, pesticides, or hormones, if any, that were used in the production of the items they are offering up for purchase. 

Take Coon Rock Farm.  This sustainable family farm provides garden crops and pasture raised, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free chicken, eggs, pigs, lamb and goat just outside of Hillsborough, NC.  Stop by the booths of Hilltop Farms out of Willow Springs, NC, known for its 34 acre certified organic produce and Timberlake, NC’s Cloverfields Farm, a vegetable, fruit and nut grower and seller.  These are just three of over twenty participating vendors of various specialties at the market.

In addition to the edibles, each week the market also showcases several local crafters of pottery and jewelry, a community booth featuring a local nonprofit organization providing information on sustainability, agriculture, gardening, and other topics, and a local musical performance that can run the gamut from blue grass to opera. 

Change up your typical Wednesday morning to afternoon drill and drop by the market.  It’s all about eating local and shopping local for the betterment of your health and the betterment of the regional economy and environment.  Think of it as indulging in some fresh fun for a good cause.         

HelloRaleigh Tip:  You can find out more about each vendor in attendance at www.raleigheatlocal.com.  Besides the healthy installments, don’t pass up the chance to taste one of Sweet T’s cupcakes or a scoop of Lumpy’s homemade ice cream.
 

- by Angela Risko, Raleigh Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Angela Risko

Angela Risko is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Formerly in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and Manhattan specializing in the film industry, additionally, she has developed multimedia content for the retail sector. A media relations professional and freelance writer, she believes inside everyone is a story worth telling. Angela is based in Raleigh with a concentration on lifestyle, culture, and human interest profiles.