THE MARKET’S GRAND OPENING RIBBON CUTTING IS SATURDAY, AUGUST 7TH AT 11 AM WITH MANHATTAN BORO PRESIDENT SCOTT STRINGER.

Sweet, tree-ripened peaches, a huge variety of nuts, delectable meats, Greek olive oil, outstanding onions are yours to enjoy each Saturday at the new Harvest Home Mount Morris Park Historic District Farmers’ Market, located on the north side of Marcus Garvey Park, Fifth Avenue at 124th Street.

Harvest Home Farmers’ Markets was founded in 1993 by Maritza Wellington Owens. The company grew out of the need to increase access to farm fresh produce in under-served neighborhoods. This July, with initiative and support from MMPCIA, the Harvest Home Mount Morris Park Historic District Farmers’ Market opened to enthusiastic response from the neighborhood.

“The Market came out of a request from our members,” says Dr. Cheryl Smith, president of the Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association. “We felt it was important for the neighborhood to be a part of buying local food—which means fresher, tastier and more nutritious than anything in the supermarket. And,” she adds, “it’s also good for the environment—less carbon foot print—and good for the local economy—buying directly from family farmers helps them stay in business.”

As enticing as the vendors’ wares are,
their stories are just as appealing.

Over the next several weeks we will introduce you to the individual local farmers whose dedication and hard work bring us the freshest of fresh each week.

Noah Ashton of Aston Farms

Meet Noah Ashton. Noah, with help from his brother and two sisters, runs his family’s West Virginia farm featuring luscious tree-ripened peaches and other produce. The family has been farming near Martinsburg, West Virginia, for decades and began doing retail markets in 1978. As Ashton Farms’ owner, Noah focuses on the management and retail aspects which include traveling each week to farmer’s markets in New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, and elsewhere.

Fascinating Sunflowers

Highlights from the farm’s 52 acres of garden and 75 acres of produce include the several varieties of fragrant and mouthwatering peaches, which ripen on the trees for as long as possible in order to heighten their sweetness and flavor. “That’s the main difference between a store-bought piece of produce and what you see here,” he says. “In a store they’re usually picked a month too early, put in a cooler and shipped a long distance. They never have a chance to build up any flavor.”

Ron VanVoorhis

Meet Ron VanVoorhis. Farm operators need reliable help, so when John Madura needed help running some of his farmer’s market stands he turned to someone he knew was reliable–his niece’s softball coach, Ron VanVoorhis. Now VanVoorhis is selling Madura’s onions, corn and other produce at three farmer’s markets, and loving the experience. He points in particular to Madura’s onions, grown in the black dirt region of New York’s Orange County, where the rich soil is so well suited for the onions that no pesticides are needed.

Besides getting to help out a friend, VanVoorhis enjoys the whole farmer’s market experience. “You meet good people, you have a good time, you’re talking, and it’s just good. And it’s outside! Can’t beat it. I meet new friends every week.”

Next week we’ll introduce Vicky Tzannetis, who at age 19, is running the U.S. import side for her family’s Greece-based olive oil operations and David Long, whose family’s Original Delancey Street Peanut Company has so many varieties of nuts and dried fruit it’s hard to decide just which ones to take home.

In the meantime, see you on Saturday, August 7 at 11 AM for the Ribbon-Cutting with Manhattan Boro Pres Scott Stringer.