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Jamaica Farmers Market to Feature Free Food Tastings and Recipes

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | June 20, 2013 12:04pm
 The market will offer fresh fruit and vegetables from local farms.
Jamaica Farmers Market opens this Friday
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QUEENS — It’s the season for the Jamaica Farmers Market.

The market, which will re-open for the season this Friday, will offer a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables from local farms, and feature free produce tastings and recipes, the organizers said.

Among the farmers hawking their goods this weekend will be Alex’s Tomato Farm, offering fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants, John Madura Farms, selling eggs, dairy and honey, and Migliorelli Farm, which offers herbs, sauces, salsa, and pear and apple ciders, according to Down to Earth Farmers Markets, which recruits farmers.

Each month, the market’s free tasting program will highlight different flavors, allowing shoppers to try products that are in season.

"For example, right now asparagus is in and strawberries are in, and in a couple of weeks they won't be any longer," said Nicole Reed of Down to Earth Farmers Markets. "When we get more into July, the corn starts to come in and the tomatoes start to come in."

Throughout the season, free recipes for the market's seasonal offerings and cooking demonstrations will also be provided, Reed said.

The market, founded in 1974 and sponsored by the nonprofit Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, is one of the oldest farmers markets in New York.

It has become an important place for Jamaica residents shopping for fresh produce, the organization said.

"The Farmers Market has played an essential role in the revitalization of the Downtown" said Carlisle Towery, Greater Jamaica’s president. "The availability of fresh fruits has become an essential amenity to thriving neighborhoods all across the city; no less so in this increasingly attractive, mixed-income, multi-ethnic community."

Residents who receive the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits can pay for produce using Electronic Benefit Transfer.

On Saturday, Aug. 10, the market will host a free corn roast and on Saturday, Oct. 19, there will be Harvest Festival.

The market, located on 160th Street, off Jamaica Avenue, will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will remain open until the third week in November.