Summer farmer's market kicks off
On June 17, vendors from across Norwood and beyond gathered to set up their booths and stands in the Town’s center in preparation for the grand opening of this year’s Norwood Farmers Market.
The market will continue every Tuesday until Oct. 14, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., be it rain or shine, with no exception unless there is present danger to vendors and customers.
However, in inclement weather it is noted that, due to the fragility of some products, vendor attendance is at their discretion and are not guaranteed to appear during such occurrences.
Some of these “fragile” products consist of items such as trading cards, framed art, and books. While these might not be traditionally found in a farmer’s market, due to the nature of an event like this, there are still tons of fresh produce stalls and hand baked goods vendors to shop from. And they’re far less likely to be damaged by the weather.
In fact, some produce is so fresh that it was quite literally picked the same day as the event. Teresa and Paulo Barbosa, owners of Barbosa Family Farm, mentioned that they wake up at 3 a.m. every Tuesday to ensure all their product was properly harvested and able to be safely transported to the market.
To put into perspective exactly how much product they have to pick, the owners totaled the weight of all their baskets, coming to almost 500 pounds of fresh produce. To make this feat even more impressive, they’ve been doing this for the Norwood Farmer’s Market three years in a row. Even their grandson is insistent on joining them on market days when he is out of school to help them set up and sell to customers.
While Barbosa Family Farm is a long-standing vendor at the market, this year saw some new faces as well.
Dilli Delights, a new Indian restaurant focusing on North Indian Cuisine, had a stall set up with free samples and menus to advertise their store’s opening. This is their first farmer’s market ever and the family’s first attempt at trying to run a restaurant.
The family’s patriarch, Hasan Rajabi, worked as an oncologist for Dana-Farber for 20 years before deciding that he wanted to share this new chapter of his life with his family running a restaurant that pays homage to their North Indian roots.
The father runs the restaurant with his daughter, Shanza Rajabi, who studies Environmental Sciences, and his wife, Ariba Khwaja, who both help run the front end of the store.
Peter McFarland, director and organizer of the Norwood Farmer’s Market, cut the opening ribbon this year and helped to start the market more than a decade ago. According to McFarland, the Market has been going on since 2011, and for the last four years of it he has had his current role.
When taking in vendors to the event, McFarland says he doesn’t charge them or non-profits so they can support the local community and local businesses as much as possible.
To determine how to be sure there is a proper balance amongst the booths, McFarland says his method is “I try to be food first, but [that’s] only a certain percentage… I try and do 50/50 as far as food versus artisans and organizations.”
This way he can ensure there is enough variety to support local businesses that aren’t produce based, while still keeping it in the realm of being a farmer’s market.
The ideology and core values behind the farmer’s market, according to McFarland is “Buy local, be healthy, and build community.” When trying to fill the 30 vendor slots each season, he said he wants to be sure that these are upheld in his selections.
Everyone is welcome to come visit the farmer’s market. And organizers had a special invitation for those with pets or young ones. The location is pet-friendly and has plenty of locations for families to rest and snack on whatever they purchase from the market.
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