Nonprofit Spotlight: Cary Downtown Farmers Market

At the Cary Downtown Farmers Market, farm-fresh carrots, nestled alongside green onions, are some of the best you'll ever taste.
At the Cary Downtown Farmers Market, farm-fresh carrots, nestled alongside green onions, are some of the best you'll ever taste.
At the market, vegetable offerings are based on seasonality. Radishes, for example, can be harvested in NC from late September until the first frost and early April to early June.
At the market, vegetable offerings are based on seasonality. Radishes, for example, can be harvested in NC from late September until the first frost and early April to early June.
"The product is far better; it’s superior to almost all your grocery store food. Case in point, tomatoes. Even our market tomatoes in December are better than grocery store tomatoes in July," said Dan Pike, board president.
More than produce: Local bake shop Sweet Arielle offers fresh pastries made with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients.
More than produce: Local bake shop Sweet Arielle offers fresh pastries made with high-quality, locally sourced ingredients.
Many local vendors bring their handmade products to the market, like these adorable crocheted hats by Loops and Whirls.
Many local vendors bring their handmade products to the market, like these adorable crocheted hats by Loops and Whirls.

When visiting the Cary Downtown Farmers Market (CDFM), it’s easy to forget that our not-so-little corner of Wake County has a population of over 176,000 people.

“Cary feels like a small town when you come to the farmers market,” said Market Manager Brett Pinsent. “I see our regulars that I know by name every week, waiting in line for those fruits and vegetables. I see the relationships that are being built every week just by them standing and talking and sharing coffee while they’re waiting. As much as I absolutely love the food, I think the sense of community is equally as important.”

CDFM, which began in 1996, meets rain or shine every Saturday and welcomes farmers and artisans who live and grow or raise their products within a 100-mile radius of downtown Cary. Winter Market runs November through March from 9 a.m. to noon, followed by the Traditional Market from April to October, 8 a.m. to noon. Currently, the market meets in the side parking lot of The Perfect Piece, located at 200 E. Chatham St. in Downtown Cary.

Unlike the State Farmers Market, CDFM does not allow any resale, meaning all vendors and farmers must bring only what they grew, made, or produced themselves. As a result, you will never find any vegetables out of season.

From left: Mitch Samples, board vice president; Brett Pinsent, market manager; and Dan Pike, board president.

After years of working in the restaurant industry, Chef Mitch Samples, board vice president, relies on the market’s season-sensitive offerings to provide accessible recipes to the community every other week via CDFM’s Chef ’s Corner. Patrons are encouraged to stop by his table and taste the dishes he’s created and ask him a question (or three). All of Samples’ recipes are available on the Cary Downtown Farmers Market website.

“I started doing the Chef ’s Corner and doing little demos,” said Samples. “We like to keep it accessible — recipes that are produced with items that are available at the market, in season that week, to kind of illustrate seasonality. This is not time for me to show o and say look what kind of fancy stuff I can do after a career in cooking. I do like to put them a little outside of the box so they’re interesting, but they’re all easily creatable at home.”

In addition to supporting the local economy, the market also offers family-friendly fun — children of all ages are invited to pick up a Farmers Market Passport and participate in the Eat-A-Rainbow children’s nutrition program.

“I tried to come up with another way to get children more interested in eating all the colors of the rainbow, and not the Skittles way, and it was this passport,” said Pinsent. “They get their own lanyard with a little holder and a passport that opens up and folds out. It’s got all the different colors of the rainbow. They write their name on the front, and each week they come up to the info booth when they first get there and show me their passport or get a passport, and then I give them $5 in a special Eat-A-Rainbow bill that they can use at certain booths. They can go buy fresh fruits or veggies or bread with that. When they’re all done shopping for the day — and it doesn’t have to be just things that they use their $5 on — they stop by on the way out and they show me all the colors, and we try to get as many colors off of that passport as we can. When they’ve gotten all the colors of the rainbow, they get a grand prize.”

Don’t be shy! A customer loads up on nutritious fresh fruits and vegetables for the week.

The program has been an unmitigated success — prior to the passport program, CDFM was giving out between $5-15 a week. Now, they average anywhere between $40-80.

“I think it’s important for kids and families to shop from the farmers market because people want to know where their food is sourced,” said Dan Pike, board president. “It’s fun to know who’s producing the food that you’re eating, who raised the meat that you’re eating. Our patrons have relationships with the vendors.”

Ultimately, CDFM’s goal is to make sure that everyone in the community has access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food. The market accepts Snap/EBT, and according to the website — which provides specific instructions on how to use your SNAP/EBT card — “if you buy $30 in farmers market tokens (usable at SNAP approved vendors), we will give you an additional $30 in tokens for free.” The market also offers an additional $30 in tokens for fresh produce when patrons use their WIC or Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons.

Pinsent strongly believes in the importance of building relationships between consumers, farmers, and the community, and CDFM is always looking for volunteers and donors to help support their mission. “We would love to have more support with events that we do, especially during the traditional season,” said Pike. “It might be the Dog Days of Summer, because we love having dogs at the market, or something for the 4th of July, but to have some extra people to help with those quarterly events would be fantastic.”

“I see our regulars that I know by name every week, and they’re there right at opening to get in line and wait for those fruits and vegetables,” said Brett Pinsent, market manager.

For those who don’t have time to volunteer but want to help the market grow and better serve the community, one-time or monthly recurring donations are always needed.

“I understand the ease that comes with going to a big grocery store and getting everything in one place, but there is something to be said about supporting local farmers or local artisans and bakers who really put everything they have into owning these small businesses,” said Pinsent. “Growing up with parents who owned a small business for 40 years, we do not do it for the money — we do it because we love what we do, and I think that’s the case with every single one of our vendors.”

To learn more about CDFM and subscribe to their mailing list, visit caryfarmersmarket.com.

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