A new farmers market is set to open in Leicester at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 31, says John Bennett of Beulah Farms.
The Leicester Farmers Market will be held at 338 New Leicester Highway on Friday evenings from 4 until 7 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. until about 2 p.m. The market will grow to include 25 vendors and will be held year round, says Bennett.
The market will offer produce, baked goods, fresh fish from the coast and cheese from local artisans, Three Graces Dairy. Bennett will sell grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork from his Leicester farm. Other vendors include John's Berry Patch, Finally Farm (specializing in organic herbs and vegetables), Randall Cove farm with produce and pastured pork and Goldner Farm with eggs and vegetables.
Bennett is a former stock broker and military officer, Christian minister, author and motivational speaker. Bennett's wife is a retired elementary school principal and an avid gardener. Both have doctorate degrees, but prefer the life of farming and advocating for other farmers. Bennett decided to organize the market to give farmers in his area an alternative source of income.
"There are several farmers markets in our area, but they all seem to be kind of closed societies," he says. "If you weren't already in them, it would be hard to get in. And I said, 'Well, I know how to do this. I can start my own.' I knew we needed one in the Leicester area, and I knew that a lot of small farmers did not have a place to market their products. A lot of people that would farm couldn't because they didn't have a place to [sell] what they grew. So, we started this thing to provide a place for not just us, but other farmers that were in the same boat."
For more information about the market, contact John Bennett at 284-3421.
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