Local Eating in the Winter Months
Locavores don't have to hibernate during the winter; here are a few resources for tracking down local food when the days are short and cold.
The farmers market is the highlight of the week for devoted locavores like me, so the painful one-two punch of the last farmers' market and the last CSA drop made for an awfully melancholy couple of days. What to do throughout the winter months, when garden-ripe tomatoes are a distant memory and cold-storage apples are starting to turn mealy with age?
Thankfully, there are some farmers' markets that continue to sell local produce throughout the winter months, and four of them fall within a half-hour's drive of the overstuffed parking lot at 108 Bloomsbury. They sell a variety of items, which I've grouped into three categories: farmers (cold-weather greens and roots; hydroponic tomatoes and lettuce) food vendors (artisan breads, organic meats and cheeses, coffee and preserves) and crafts (herbal gifts, soaps, flowers and Christmas decorations.)
E. 32nd Street and Barclay Street, Baltimore
19 farmers, 23 food vendors, 7 craft vendors
Saturday: 7 AM – 12 PM, year-round
Contact: Marc Rey, 410-889-6388
Anne Arundel County Farmers Market
10 farmers, 5 food vendors, 29 craft vendors
Riva Road and Harry S. Truman Parkway, Parole
Saturday: 7 AM – 12 PM, through Dec. 18
End of Season Blowout, 5-9 PM, Dec. 22
Contact: Brenda Conti, 410-349-0317
Saratoga Street between Holliday and Gay Streets, Baltimore
32 farmers, 14 food vendors, 20 craft vendors
Sunday: 8 AM – 12 PM, through Dec. 19
Contact: Carole Simon, 410-752-8632
Westfield Mall (2nd floor Nordstrom parking garage), Annapolis
3 farmers, 7 food vendors
Sunday: 11 AM – 2 PM, every other week, Jan. 2 – Oct. 23
Contact: Brenda Conti, 410-349-0317
