Where GREEN never tasted so good!
Behind the rows of produce, busy vendors, and eager customers, farmers markets are a bustling hub of sustainability. Local farmers deliver fresh, local food to a growing number of shoppers demanding food that is not only healthy, but environmentally friendly. But farmers markets take sustainability a step further. They also ensure farmers can make a living off sustainably grown food, while providing an outlet where communities can find and purchase their products.
Pinecrest Gardens Farmers Market operates Sundays from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. every week. You will find the season’s best bounty of fruits, vegetables, honey, flowers, meats, cheeses, and specialty products throughout the year. The market represents a convergence of top local sustainable and organic farmers and food purveyors from the Miami area, Redlands, Homestead, Clewiston, and Ft. Pierce. The marked is managed by Green Market Co-Op, two hard working and focused ladies who are committed to the growers, the artisan food community and to fostering the values of that community at the Pinecrest Gardens Farmers Market. They have envisioned the marketplace as a vibrant gathering of local farmers, artisan producers and independently owned and operated small local food businesses and to the customers they serve.
The producers proudly display their wares under banners describing their nearby locations and sustainable practices. The shoppers browse eagerly, asking questions and loading up their bags.
What Is a Good Market Anyway?
Recipe for Market Success
We asked our market managers, Susan and Natalia how they have made their markets so successful.
● Producers Only
The most important element, they told me, is their producer-only rule, which states that growers and producers may sell at market only products they grow, raise, or produce themselves with few exceptions.
“This is the key to guaranteeing authenticity, quality, and freshness, and to knowing the farmer who grows or raises your food.”
● Local Focus
They make sure the markets support the local food economy by restricting their farmers and producers to the South Florida markets. The Green Market Co-Op conducts a farm or facility visit before each new farmer/artisan food producer is accepted as a vendor, which ensures transparency and accountability.
● Good Management
“Keeping markets thriving takes lots of good management,” Natalia and Susan oversee everything at their markets. Every producer must have general and product liability insurance, and must submit information about their processing facilities.
Market as a Community Gathering Place
Ultimately, high quality markets like those run by Green Market Co-Op succeed because people get something from going there beyond a simple bag of produce. Farmers’ markets are the new town squares in America where people have many conversations and feel and act like citizens, neighbors, and friends.
Sustainable Practices
Sustainability is the overarching theme in this system. Farmers engage in sustainable farming practices to produce healthy food to sustain the local community, who in turn provide the money necessary to sustain the farmers. Each shares in the success of the other in a mutually beneficial relationship that has become a model for sustainability.
Each year, more and more customers are drawn to farmers markets due to an increasing demand for natural and organic food. According to a USDA survey, markets that sell organic products report more customers per week, more vendors, and larger monthly sales. This upward trend depicts a rising consciousness among customers who are concerned with not just what they eat, but how it is produced. As a result, more and more farmers are adopting environmentally sound farming practices that improve, rather than degrade, the natural environment.
Farmers selling at markets minimize the amount of waste and pollution they create. Many use certified organic practices, reducing the amount of synthetic pesticides and chemicals that pollute our soil and water. A growing number are also adopting other low-impact practices, such as on-site composting, that help mitigate climate change and other environmental issues.
We invite you to visit the Pinecrest Gardens Farmers Market each and every week. Buy your produce, enjoy the fruits of these growers and food artisan’s labors…and most importantly bring your delicious purchases into the Gardens, find a shady spot at a picnic table and enjoy the very best part of the market experience…devouring all the deliciousness in pure botanical beauty. Dogs welcomed both at the market and inside the Gardens.
Pinecrest Gardens gives special thanks and recognition to Baptist Health Care who have sponsored the Farmers Market at Pinecrest Gardens for the last three years. Baptist Health Care; Good Food Means Good Health.
