MORGANTOWN — On a not so wintery Saturday the Morgantown Farmer’s Market was in full swing at their Winter Farmer’s Market at the Wesley United Methodist Church. Market Manager Caitlin Diehl said the winter market started in November, and wintertime market differs from the summer season in a variety of ways.
“When it comes to the winter Farmer’s Market you do usually see the same amount of product that you’ll see during the summer market, but it is obviously limited because winter does affect their growing season,” she said.
The Farmer’s Market SNAP benefits are a fairly new feature to market patrons. Diehl said the program is starting to pick up as people become aware of the Double Dollars program and rewards offered to SNAP recipients. The Farmer’s Market will match up to $20 to a SNAP user, totaling $40 available to spend at the market, and extra $5 if they have a child.
In 2019, Diehl hopes to see larger crowds come summertime and winter and hopes to see new products as well.
“The good thing about our Farmer’s Market is compared to getting this stuff at Kroger that will die in a week, Farmer’s Market product will last you almost twice as long and it’s obviously a lot healthier for you,” she said.
Charles DeBerry of DeBerry Farms in out of Oakland, Md. was selling his products at the winter market on Saturday. He said what he typically sells in the winter months are storage crops, like potatoes and garlic.
For the brunch aficionado, customers can pick up a bottle of Blood Mary Mix. DeBerry also has spaghetti sauce, salsa and pepper jelly.
Summer market the produce DeBerry has is extensive, with lettuce, green bean, cauliflower, and many others available to market patrons. He said being there for his customers is all part of being local.
“We have a lot of faithful customers that come to every market that we have so it’s good to have markets for them to come and buy product in the winter also. I think it’s good to keep product in front of our consumers all the time,” he said.
One thing he noted was his canned products can vary from year to year. He said this year’s salsa is spicy, and it greatly depends on the product available to go into the jar.
“From year to year it might not be the same exact. It’s kinda like wine. A different vintage,” he said.
DeBerry said he’ll continue to carry largely the same product throughout the winter. In March, he’ll have microgreens as the farm starts to heat their greenhouses and head into the warm weather.
He said consumers participating in the winter market helps him and fellow famers who try to sell their products full time.
“It just helps the whole local movement I think to be interacting with each other through the winter just like we do in the summer. It can be just as vibrant in the winter,” he said.
