CHELSEA — A new summer farmers market at West 23rd Street and Ninth Avenue is set to open on Saturday, giving locals a chance to buy farm-fresh produce and locally sourced food.
The Down to Earth farmers market will set up shop on the sidewalk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays until Nov. 22.
"The unique feature of our market is we have both farmers and people who make food from farm ingredients," said Nicole Reed, a spokeswoman for Down to Earth. "Our goal is to bolster the food system of the New York region by getting more and more people to source from New York agriculture."
Farmers at the market include Roots to River, a new heirloom produce farmer from Pennsylvania; Alex's Tomato Farm; Jersey Farm Produce; and Locust Grove Fruit Farm.
The market will also feature Demi Olive Oil, Dickson's Farmstand Meats, American Pride Seafood, Meredith's Bread and Tuthilltown Spirits Farm Distillery, which makes spirits using ingredients from the New York area.
The new location will also have a rotating list of "day vendors" that visit once or twice a month, Reed said.
The market will accept EBT for customers with SNAP benefits, and all produce left over at the end of the day will go to the nearby Church of the Holy Apostles soup kitchen, which serves more than 1,000 meals every weekday.
"They sometimes have a hard time getting ingredients, so it's a real win-win for us," Reed said.
The Chelsea market is Down to Earth's second location in Manhattan — the company's Morningside Park market is now in its 10th season. In all, the group has 19 markets in the New York area.
