Farmers’ Market Openings

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It is officially the first day of Spring! Also known as the Vernal Equinox, this is the time of year in which the daylight hours become increasingly longer than the dark. Hooray for more after-work sunshine! 



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The arrival of Spring means different things to different people. To me, it means balmy daytime temperatures and cooler nights, with beautiful blooming foliage giving home to cute chirping birds; it’s that time of year to dust off my fishing rod and get outside more often in general. But perhaps one of my most favorite reasons for loving Spring is… (drumroll)… the reopening of local Farmers’ Markets! Hooray for fresh, local produce!

As we've discussed before, there are many great reasons to shop from a Farmers' Market: (1) Buying foods locally helps support local farmers and local economy; (2) They can inspire you to try new foods, as you'll likely see various varieties of produce that you may not find in the conventional supermarket; (3) Purchasing your foods locally increases awareness of where your food comes from (freshly picked from a nearby farm!); and, (4) Buying from farmers eliminates the cost of the middleman and pricey shipping, so you get more value for your dollar! Hooray for extra savings in my pocket!



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So after three great reasons for some extra "Hooray" in our lives, I have listed some of the Farmers’ Markets, CSA’s and local farms open for business now or starting in April, 2012

Follow the link below to see the complete list.







 

*Denotes farms/markets that are open year-round or offer delivery options!

17th Street Farmers Market

100 North 17th Street, Richmond, VA 23219

(804) 646-0477

Days & Hours:  3-7 p.m., Wednesdays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursdays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m.,

Saturdays, April 22-December 5; 4-8 p.m., Fridays, May 29-September 4.

www.17thstreetfarmersmarket.com/

*Agri-Berry CSA

Studley, VA 2316                   (804) 559-1791     

Local berries and fruit delivered weekly. http://www.agriberry.com/

*Avery's Branch Farms

5350 Cedar Lane Amelia Court House, VA 23002

Natural eggs, grass-fed poultry, seasonal produce, and rich, creamy milk. http://www.averysbranchfarms.com/

Bowling Green Community Farmers Market

Chase Street, Bowling Green, VA 22427

(804) 633-6212

Days & Hours: (Saturdays, 8 a.m.-12 noon, April 19 - October) http://www.townofbowlinggreen.com/

Brandermill Green Market

4948 Millridge Parkway E. Midlothian  VA 23112

(804) 744-1035

Days & Hours:  Saturdays, April - Memorial Day 10 am - 2pm;

June - October, 9 am – Noon    http://www.brandermill.com/

*Brookview Farm

854 Dover Rd, Manakin-Sabot, VA 23103    

804-784-3131

Days & Hours: food pickups every Thursday  

http://www.brookviewfarm.com/

Chesterfield Berry Farm & Market

26002 Pear Orchard Road, Moseley, VA 23120

(804) 739-2404

Pick-your-own strawberries; pumpkins plus select-your-own apples, cider, gourds, Indian corn, and corn stalks.  We grow a large selection of fresh vegetables throughout the summer to sell fresh-picked at our farm market, along with our jams, jellies and Peaks of Otter wines. http://www.chesterfieldberryfarm.com/

Chesterfield Farmers Market

11500 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond  VA 23235     (804) 276-5752

Days & Hours:  Open April 1 - December 2, 2011, Fridays 9 am - 1 pm.

Located in the Chesterfield Towne Center parking area,

at the Huguenot Road entrance, to the left of the entrance of Macy's.           

www.chesterfieldfarmersmarket.blogspot.com/

*Dominion Harvest CSA

8552 Sanford Dr. Richmond, VA 23228 (804) 402-8481

Weekly-biweekly home delivery service of fresh, seasonal produce & local foods.             https://www.dominionharvest.com/

*Fall Line Farms/Lulus Local Food

12506 River Rd Richmond, VA 23238

On-line farm to family Co-op program designed to connect family owned and operated farms in the central Virginia area with customers in search of local food year round.                 http://flf.luluslocalfood.com/                http://localroots.luluslocalfood.com/

*Farm 2 Family Farm Bus

2817 Mechanicsville Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23223

804-767-8570

Days & Hours: Monday through Friday: 10am till 7pm,

 Saturday: 9am till 6pm, Sunday: 11am-5pm;

Farm2Family Bus runs YEAR ROUND!

http://thefarmbus.com/

*Field of Dreams Farm

8600 Lakefront Drive, Henrico, VA 23294     (804) 332 7000

Days & Hours: Friday & Saturday 8am to 2pm YEAR ROUND

*Forrest Green Farms

2317 Evergreen Rd Louisa, VA 23093 (540) 967-1165

Naturally and ecologically grown medicinal and culinary herb plants, vegetables, grass- fed beef, pastured chicken eggs, and horse hay.

http://www.forrestgreenfarm.com/

*Furbelow Farms

4625 Fox Chase Run Gum Spring VA 23065

Participant in the Goochland farmers market; produces Alpacas fiber, cashmere fiber, Free Range Chicken eggs, 2 types of duck eggs Pekin & Campbell, and Jumbo Quail eggs.   http://furbelowfarms.com/

*Gallmeyer Farms

Berry Patch:

3622 Darbytown Court, Richmond 23231 (804) 795-9979 8AM-8PM Daily

Veggie Stand & Pumpkin Patch:

4506 Millers Lane Richmond 23231 (804) 222-2285 9AM-7PM Daily  http://www.gallmeyerfarms.com/

Huguenot-Robious Farmers' Market at the Great Big Greenhouse

2051 Huguenot Road, Richmond, VA 23235

(804) 320-1317

Days & Hours:  April through October, Thursdays, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.                   http://www.greatbiggreenhouse.com/

*Keenbell Farm

18437 Vontay Rd Rockville, VA 23146

(804) 767-0530

Grass-Fed Beef, Pastured Pork, and free-range eggs

Lakeside Farmers Market

6110 Lakeside Avenue, Richmond,  VA 23228

(804) 262-6593

Days & Hours:  Saturdays, 8 a.m.-12 noon and Wednesdays, 8AM-Dusk. April 2-Dec.             http://www.lakesidefarmersmarket.net/

*Lavender Fields Herb Farm

11300 Winfrey Road, Glen Allen, VA 23059 (804) 262-3386

Herbs and herb plants.            http://lavenderfieldsfarm.com/

Days and Hours: March-June Mon-Sat. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.;

July-December Tues-Sat 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Maidstone Farmer's Market

11833 Aspengraf Lane, New Kent  VA 23124           804 557-3720

Days & Hours:  April-October, Thursdays from 4pm to 7pm.

*Manakintowne Specialty Growers

2570 Federal Hill Farms Rd Powhatan, VA 23139 (804) 379-8253

http://manakintownespecialtygrowers.com/

Petersburg Farmers Market

9 East Old St Petersburg, VA 23803

(804) 733 2400

Days & Hours: Saturdays April-Oct 7AM-12PM                                http://www.petersburgarea.org/

*Phillip's Farm/ Thompson's Orchard

12418 Ladysmith Road, Ruther Glen, VA 22546

(804) 448-0182

CSA Organic fruits and vegetables.

Pole Green Produce Stand

6547 Pole Green Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116  

(804) 730-7732

Days & Hours: April through Thanksgiving

Powhatan Farmers' Market

3839 Old Buckingham Road, Powhatan  VA 23139              804 598-5605

Days & Hours:  April - November on Thursdays from 4pm to 7pm.             http://www.powhatanva.com/farmmarketandflea/

*Rural Virginia Market

PO Box 866, Columbia, VA  23038 434.842.3954

Small, family-owned farms in Goochland, Fluvanna, Amelia and Powhatan Counties with             delicious varieties of produce, washed clean, chilled and brought right to you!http://www.ruralvirginiamarket.com/

South-er of the James Farmers Market

4910 Forest Hill Avenue, Richmond  VA 23225         804 221-6667

Days & Hours:  Open April - October, Wednesdays from 3pm - 8pm

www.sojmarket.com/tag/souther-of-the-james-farmers-market/

*Tricycle Gardens/9th & B Urban Farm

Ste B, 211 West 7th St Richmond, VA 23224

(804) 231-7767

Community Gardens, Urban Agriculture  http://tricyclegardens.org/

West End Farmers Market

12456 Gayton Road, Richmond,  VA 23238

(804) 364-8213

Days & Hours:  8 a.m.-12 Noon, Wednesday and Saturday, April 25-December 12.             http://www.westendfarmersmarket.com/

Whew – that’s quite a list – and I haven’t even added the markets opening in May!

Do not forget to join us for our monthly Group Exercise class here at Glen Allen! What better way to kick off the first day of Spring than with a nice dose of physical activity!

Happy (local) eating,

Chloe RD and the GLC