Local Food: Where to Find it When the Cold Sets In

We tend to associate fresh farm food with summertime farm stands filled with local tomatoes or apple picking on a day off from school. Once the cold sets in, there are still places to find great local produce and handmade products.

Unfortunately, you can’t find it in Westwood, but a quick drive to some surrounding communities can yield favorable results. 

Here’s what I’ve found:

Powisset Farm at 37 Powisset Street in Dover will have of the 2011 season this Saturday, Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. In addition to veggies, you can purchase local eggs and pork. A bonus this weekend: local vendors will sell their wares (pottery, jams, honey, handmade cards, etc). Next year, think about signing up for their CSA winter share. 

The Dedham Square Country Store at 626 High Street in Dedham is open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. They use a farmers market-style business model by only selling products that would be found in typical farmers markets in New England. There is local and fresh produce, dried goods, dairy, artisan breads, hand-crafted jams, and more. They are also the CSA distribution site for shareholders of the Lemon Thyme Farm in Hanson. It may be too late to take advantage of the farm’s “Deep Winter” offering from November – end of January, but look into it for 2012.

Walpole Winter Farmers Market at 108 Robbins Road-VFW Hall is also open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Their market dates are Dec. 18, Jan. 8, Jan. 22, Feb. 12, Feb. 26, March 11, March 25, April 15 and April 29. This is a vendor market . . . here is a sampling of what you will find: Annie B’s Farm from Cumberland, Rhode Island raises bees and sells all natural honey and honey-related products. Big Sky Bakery from Newton Centre is a unique bakery with over 100 types of breads and rolls. Oakdale Farms from Rehoboth is a working vegetable and horticultural farm.

So, if you are a locavore (a person who strives to eat only foods grown and harvested within a set radius of their home), check out these wintertime markets to realize the wonderful benefits of buying local.

When you buy local, your dollars stay in the community and help strengthen local economy, protect the environment by reducing the energy used to bring food from field to table, and support handmade, farm grown items.