Community supports local farming

Every Sunday morning, the parking lot of Newark Natural Foods is transformed from a drab concrete space to a thriving marketplace. Multi-colored tents, separated by hanging yellow flags, feature an array of products that people both young and old can enjoy.

In today's society, "green" and "organic" are becoming marketable phrases.  As people become more organically conscious and health focused, the rise in farmers' markets is rapidly increasing. Since farmers' markets sell their products straight to the customers, the family farm is able to compete with supermarkets and stay in business.

"Lately, there has been more public awareness of natural foods," says Gina Cimino, marketing manager for Newark Natural Foods. "They're considered trendy and on everybody's mind."

According to the the 2010 National Farmer's Market Directory, there are 6,132 farmer's markets in operation across the country, a 16 percent increase from 2009. Since the directory started in 1994, the number of farmers markets has tripled.

Newark Natural Foods, located at the end of Main Street hosts a Farmers' Market co-operative during the spring, summer and fall months and gives local farmers the opportunity to sell directly to their customers. Cimino, host of the co-op, has been actively involved in the Farmer's Market for the past three years; however, the co-op has been running for the past 10 years.

"It was started by a board of stewards, staff members, and local members," Cimino says. "We saw an opportunity to bring in more local produce and increase the store's business on Sundays."

She says in the organic food world, the produce costs more, but customers are getting an overall better product for their money. Newark Natural Foods is selective in determining what vendors can sell at their market—all the produce has to be locally grown and no resale items are allowed.

 One of the vendors that fit the criteria, Whimsical Farms, has been with the market since its creation.   Trebs Thompson, owner of a 15-acre family farm located on Steele Road in Newark, estimates that 10 to 15 percent of her farm sales are from the Farmer's Market in Newark.

"Like all things, there's some challenges, like the cost of production going up," Thompson says. "However, people are always going to eat, and since people have committed to eating locally and well, the number has grown."

Whimsical Farms sells eclectic items, such as yarn created from their own sheep and soap that is made in partnership with Woodside Farm Creamery, another local farm. Every week, they sell a variety of eggs in all different colors based on the breed of bird they come from. Some of the birds are extremely rare and they are all Free Range.

"We love what we do and we love having the chance to work with customers," Thompson says. "Many of our customers have been with us since we began nine years ago and just call us up and say what they need for the next year."

All the vendors pay a flat fee for a spot either for the full season, half the season, or by individual day.

Papa's Pastry Shop, another participating vendor at the market, contacted Cimino after many of their customers requested them to be there. Nanik Oei, co-owner with husband Tom Oei, believe this is the best channel for local businesses.

"Due to the economy crisis, many families are cutting down on eating out and going to the market and gathering ingredients," Oei says. "Many make it into a family event, bringing their kids to the market and pick out the food together compared to just dining out together."

Papa's Pastry Shop offers everything from homemade cakes, cookies, muffins and gelato to crème brûlée and apple turnovers. They also offer vegetarian, vegan and organic foods, and multigrain and whole wheat bread.

"For us, this is the best thing that's happening right now with the economy like this," Oei says. "We need to stay in business, but people always need to have food– it's a necessity."

Cimino says she keeps a good relationship with both her vendors and customers. She offers annual vendor meetings and two festivals for customer appreciation, one in the summer and one in the fall. They also offer entertainment every Sunday. The upcoming Fall Festival, the Co-op Harvest Festival, is Sunday.

"There will always be highs and lows in the economy and I believe we're on the forefront of this organic revolution," Cimino says. "We even use farmers who use traditional farming methods like using horses in pasture instead of a tractor."