When Manhattan resident Susan Eby headed to her weekend home in Gardiner Saturday, she took a detour to New Paltz's Historic District.Eby wasn't there to learn about the village's history. She was there for the food. On the second Saturday of each month between December and April, Deyo Hall in the Huguenot District is the home of Winter Sun Farm's Winter Farmers Market, and business was brisk Saturday morning.
"It's great quality stuff, and I know a lot of the people who grew it," Eby said as she loaded two large boxes of vegetables, eggs, baked goods and grass-fed meats into the back of her station wagon.
Eby owns shares in Winter Sun Farm's cooperative and has been buying locally grown fresh and frozen food in bulk for the past three years. "It's just a great way to buy good food," she said.
James Hyland, owner of Winter Sun Farm, hatched the idea for the farmers market four years ago, inviting more than a dozen local farmers to participate.
"My thinking was, farmers all freeze food for themselves every winter. Maybe they could grow a little extra and could sell that excess at the market," Hyland said.
The response from the community had exceeded his expectations. And in addition to private consumers, Vassar College in Poughkeepsie and the State University of New York at New Paltz are also placing orders.
The farmers who have joined Hyland's enterprise say they too are pleased with the results. Bart Colucci, owner of Meadow View Farm on Phillies Bridge Road in New Paltz, was selling organic eggs and grass-fed beef at the market Saturday. "My business is growing by leaps and bounds, and this market is fantastic," Colucci said. "Every farmer here is selling good products."
New Paltz residents Steven Cook and Christine Marmo walked out of Deyo Hall carrying two large bags filed with carrots, potatoes, beets and lettuce. Cook and Marmo said they had been patronizing local farmers markets for the past three years.
"You know you're getting the freshest food, and you're helping local businesses," Cook said. Marmo said there was also a social side to their visit. "It's always nice to meet your friends here," she said. "Every time we come, we meet people we know."