Collingswood voted nation’s favorite small farmers market
Thanks to a last-minute push, Collingswood edged out a stubborn California entry to capture the "small" category crown in the America's Favorite Farmers Market contest.
Thanks to a last-minute push, Collingswood edged out a stubborn California entry to capture the "small" category crown in the America's Favorite Farmers Market contest.
A Davis, Calif., market got the most votes among large markets, while Williamsburg, Va., claimed victory among the medium-sized, according to the organizer, the American Farmland Trust.
Several other markets in the region also garnered votes, including the Lancaster Central Farmers Market (large), Delaware's Historic Lewes Farmers Market (medium), and a handful of small ones: Historic Eastern Market in Lancaster, West Chester Growers Market, Gloucester City Farmers Market, Boyertown Farmers Market, and Burlington County Farmers Market in Moorestown.
Hundreds of markets entered the online competition, and a little local organizing paid off for Collingswood, explained director Betsy Cook.
Last week's email newsletter not only told folks about "peaches galore," zucchini flowers and High Fiber Tuscan Herb bread, but how "we might still be 'America's Favorite Market' if we can hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth."
Customers at the market Saturday, the last day of voting, were urged to use a laptop to cast their ballots, one vote per email address, Cook said.
When the locals had finished voicing their loyalty, Collingswood wound up edging Fresno with 1,027 votes - and "bragging rights," Cook said.
Not to overlook an actual prize: A bunch of "No Farms, No food" reusable tote bags as thank-you gifts to supporters.
Not bad for a weekly event in a PATCO High Speed Line parking lot.
The excitement is "still sinking in," Cook said. "We're having some fun with it, yes."
The decade-old market, which runs from May till the Saturday before Thanksgiving, operates from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays between Collings and Irvin Avenues.
The focus is on locally grown foods, plants and flowers, and locally made baked goods, with an exception made for one vendor, who can sell foods that are out of season here, or, like pineapples, that can only be grown elsewhere.
Most weeks, local musicians play. "We tend to like contemporary recognizable music," said Cook, a freelance graphics designer, who does the market's promotional materials and created its website.
Some weeks, a chef will put on a cooking demonstration. Saturday's session will be conducted by Nunzio Ristorante Rustico, a Collingswood restaurant. A canning demo is planned for Sept. 5.
In November, as the shopping season nears, some local craftspeople also sell their wares.
For more information, go to the market's website, www.collingswoodmarket.com.
To find other farmers markets, use the handy interactive map and search tool at www.culinate.com/mix.
For more on American's Farmland Trust, including the contest, go http://action.farmland.org.
