With spring comes the Fulton Stall Market’s weekly outdoor fair, where farmers hailing from in and around the city will convene to sell some of the freshest produce Lower Manhattan has to offer.
BY COLIN MIXSON
Downtowners will soon have the opportunity to mingle with local growers and purchase farm-fresh fruits and veggies in their own backyard with the seasonal opening of Fulton Stall’s outdoor market on Apr. 10.
The weekly open-air green market will feature up to 20 vendors hailing from orchards and farms no more than 250 miles outside of the city, ensuring that any produce purchased at the alfresco fair is as fresh as it comes, according to one farmer.
“It doesn’t get any fresher than this — not at Whole Foods, not anywhere,” said Elizabeth Ryan, owner of the Breezy Hill Orchard. “We are literally picking and making this stuff, and a lot of times people get it there 24 to 48 hours later.”
The market, open Sundays between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., will host a revolving lineup of local growers hawking products ranging from meats, cheeses and produce, to craft beer and what’s become some of Breezy Orchard’s most popular goods: hard cider and cider doughnuts.
Unlike the year-round indoor market, the farmers will be on hand to talk shop with the locals, giving city-dwellers a taste of what it’s like to live off the land, according to Phillip St. Pierre, senior general manager for the South Street Seaport at Howard Hughes Corp., which organizes the event.
“Here you can talk to the farmer who produced the product, and have a conversation about not just the food, but what motivates them,” he said. “It’s really a very special experience.”
In addition to buying fresh, Howard Hughes Corp. has plans to invite local chefs to offer cooking demonstrations for community members, along with bringing kids from nearby schools to meet the farmers who stock the aisles at their local grocery store, according to St. Pierre.
“It’s been a great vehicle for us to connect with our community,” he said.
To celebrate the season opener on Sunday, Howard Hughes Corp. has invited the Sam Barnes Bluegrass Band and will have craft stations to keep the kids busy while parents peruse the market for tasty treats, St. Pierre said.
“To make sure we kick the season off with a bang, we’ll have a bluegrass band, arts and crafts for the kids, 15 to 20 vendors lined up,” he said. “It will be a nice, fun day.”
The Financial District and surrounding neighborhoods have enjoyed a booming influx of new residents of late, but certain amenities, including grocery stores and farmer’s markets, have been slow to follow. But despite being one of the area’s only sources of farm-fresh produce, the market remains one of Lower Manhattan’s best-kept secrets — but it’s the growers’ hope that it won’t stay that way for long, according to Ryan.
“People are only beginning to understand there’s a market there,” she said. “I’ll be honest, it’s slow, and we really need the public support. We need people to know there’s a market down there.”
