New York Greenmarkets

I came to Seattle from New York blown away by the farmers markets, assuming that my state was far behind in terms of the local food movement. Once I started poking around, I found that this was not the case; I just had not been looking in the right places. I am from Long Island and knew that the island had it's share of markets on the eastern end, but I discovered that there are City Greenmarkets in all five boroughs. These include more well known locations such as Rockefeller center, Williamsburg, Union Square, and even in the Staten Island Ferry terminal. (Find a list of locations here) Greenmarket has been organizing and managing these markets throughout NYC since 1976, supplying local produce from 200+ farms throughout New York on 30,000 acres of regional open space, collectively. Some of the best restaurants around the city use produce from Greenmarkets! Greenmarket is also known for its community outreach, now accepting coupons or foodstamps at many locations. In addition, any unsold produce that cannot be sold at a later date are used to feed the hungry. In 2006 224,000 lbs. of food were donated to City Harvest.


This article tells the story of a Katonah farmer named Dan Gibson (right), once the senior vice president of corporate affairs at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, who now sells his grass-fed angus at the Union Square Greenmarket on Fridays. Instead of sitting around for dinner with other Upper-East Siders, he now shares his meals with other local farmers that he does business with. The article also explains that many urban professionals are giving up the city life to buy farmland.

Here are two good videos to watch: the first is about a Staten Island farmer who now cultivates produce from his home in Mexico and the second is a fun video on a "farmer's tan" contest at a Brooklyn Greenmarket in Williamsburg, showing a lot of the spirit and community bond of these markets.

-Nicole Boland