Support The Farmers’ Markets

July is beans, beets, blueberries, and broccoli. July is spinach, summer squash, and sweet corn. July is cabbage, carrots, cantaloupe, and cucumbers. And don’t forget the leeks and lettuce and the peaches and peppers. Lucky for us, July marks the return of farmers’ markets to the area. This year, Newtown will be blessed with two farmers’ markets, both in the center of Sandy Hook.

This week the popular Sandy Hook Organic Farmers’ returned to the parking lot and field behind St John’s Episcopal Church on Washington Avenue with extended hours on Tuesdays — 9 am to 2 pm — and expanded offerings. Organizers say that in addition to the cornucopia of organic produce, more baked goods and crafts will be available this year along with the usual entertainments for young and old.

Next weekend, on July 18, yet another farmers’ market will open up just down the street at 1 Glen Road, offering more local produce and goods every Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm. Both markets plan to stay open right through the eggplants and potatoes of August, the cauliflowers and watermelons of September, and the apples and pumpkins of October. It is going to be a great summer.

As much as we appreciate our modern mega markets (with as many different kinds of toothpaste as there used to be total products in grocery stores 100 years ago), we will always prefer to shop for fruits and vegetables in open-air stalls where the produce is not sealed off from our senses in a sheath of antiseptic plastic. At a farmers’ market, you can judge the color of a fruit or vegetable in the same sunlight in which it grew. You can shake the dirt from the roots. You can talk to the person who planted the seed, worried about the weather, and got up early that morning to pick and present their produce to you, often throwing in cooking instructions or a complete recipe without charge. It is a much more civilized transaction that provides us with a much-needed reminder that we are not just consumers, we are human beings living in a bountiful place.

We encourage all Newtowners to support the farmers’ markets so that they will continue to thrive and grow year by year.