Staff Writer
CARIBOU — The only way to get more homegrown than the Caribou Farmer’s Market would be to grow it yourself (and few residents have the zoning capacity or patience for that).
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Celebrating the grand opening of the Caribou Farmer’s Market on June 22 were, from left, front row: Jim, Tom, Anya, Christie and John O’Meara, all of O’Meara Family Farm. Second row: Director of the Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce Jenny Coon, Executive Committee member Joseph Sleeper II, Deena Albert Parks of Chops-A-Hoy, Kimber Noyes of Noyes Flower Shop and Gail Maynard of Pineland Farms. Back row: Executive Committee members Shawn Anderson and Shawn Pelletier, Mayor of Caribou Kenneth Murchison, Executive Committee member Troy Heald, Stanley Maynard of Pineland Farms and Executive Committee member Jim Cyr.
Eggs, cheese, beef, pork and more growing greens than you can shake a rake at — vendors from Caribou, Woodland and New Sweden were pleased to see how eager the community is to buy locally grown products.
With traditional Aroostook County produce still a few weeks from fruition, selection at the farmer’s market is only going to increase from June 22nd’s well-received grand opening.
“The community support was great, and customers were full of suggestions as to what types of additional vendors they’d like to see,” said Director of the Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce Jenny Coon, who’s spent the past few months ‘growing’ the new market.
For its first year, vendors have the opportunity to participate in the farmer’s market for free, thanks to an AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation grant through the Cary Medical Center; interest in the farmer’s market is steadily growing from both vendors and customers.
Coon’s anticipating the addition of fruit and orchard trees to the next farmer’s market on Wednesday, and she’s officially put the word out that the Caribou Farmer’s Market is looking for some bakers, crafters, and even a musician or two.
Come July, there’s a high probability that area foodies can put together four-course meals grown entirely in a 15-mile radius of their homes — it doesn’t get much more eco-friendly than that.
For the green thumbs of the area, the Caribou Farmer’s Market has the perfect match for a summer garden, whether it’s herbs, veggie seedlings, perennials, annuals or hanging baskets needed to grace a landscape.
Word is quickly spreading about the new farmer’s market in town, which is open on Wednesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at 159 Bennett Drive (formerly the Bureau of Motor Vehicles parking lot).
Anyone interested in finding out more about the Caribou Farmer’s Market can visit the chamber’s web page at cariboumaine.net, call Coon at 493-4233, or stop by the market during business hours.
