South County Garden of Eatin'

If - as they say - you are what you eat, consider the collective wisdom of the hundreds of local residents who shop every weekend at the South Kingstown Farmers’ Wintertime Indoor Market. The market features a cornucopia of locally grown vegetables, Rhode Island orchard apples, meat from South County farms, and shellfish from our waters. And did we mention fresh eggs from happy, free-ranging hens?

The indoor market is open from 10 am to 2 pm every Saturday from late November through April at the Peacedale Mill Complex, 1425 Kingstown Road, Peace Dale, RI. This wintertime market is the off-season counterpart to the outdoor farmers markets held weekly during the growing season at URI’s East Farm, just up the road, and at Marina Park, off Route 1 near the South County Hospital Exit in Wakefield. All three markets are managed by Market Master Steve Gardiner who, with his wife Pat, operates S&P Gardiner Farm in South Kingstown.

Value for the Money

Don’t let the “off-season” description fool you. In addition to autumn-harvested root vegetables and frozen meats, the farmers market also features fresh greens grown in greenhouses - yes, even in January in South County. For this reason, shoppers at the indoor farmers market are somewhat insulated against rising food prices that our snowbird friends in Florida are kvetching about as a result of that State’s recent spate of cold weather.

“Absolutely. I am back to buying frozen,” complained a friend from Barrington who is wintering on Florida’s west coast, when asked about produce prices in the South.

Locally, people of all ages from our South County community are discovering that, not only can they enjoy fresher and arguably more nutritious food by shopping at the Peace Dale farmers market, but they can sometimes save money, as well.

At last Saturday’s market, for instance, shoppers purchasing loose potatoes from West Kingston’s Sosnowski Farm paid 20% less per pound than similar potatoes at a local grocery store. A bag of freshly harvested mesclun (salad mix) or baby spinach from S&P Gardiner Farm cost nearly 30% less per ounce than salad greens in clamshell containers at a conventional supermarket.

Not every food product bears such direct comparison. How, for instance, can you compare the value of meat from grass-fed animals with the price of meat from feedlot livestock?

Sustainability Is Key

Local farmers know that, to stay in business, they have to strive to keep prices competitive. As farmer and eighth-term State Senator (representing District 37, South Kingstown and Block Island) V. Susan Sosnowski explained, “The only way for agriculture in Rhode Island to be profitable is by cutting out the middle man.”

This direct-to-consumer approach and the use of sustainable farming methods foster better quality food at affordable prices. As a group, the farmers we interviewed recycle manures from their own animals, grow the corn, and store the silage which supports their beef cattle during the winter. They also espouse prudent crop rotation in an effort to avoid the use of pesticides, even natural bug-killers like pyrethrum or Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis).

None of the growers we interviewed has a farm that is Certified Organic, a designation representing a stringent - some might say too stringent and capricious - U.S. Department of Agriculture imprimatur.

As Senator Sosnowski explained, most local farmers understand the “natural connection between the soil, food, and our bodies” and act accordingly in their farm management practices.

But while you probably won’t see a “Certified Organic” logo on the fresh veggies at the farmers market, you will see the "USDA Inspected" seal on the frozen meat sold there. Unlike the meat you might buy elsewhere, at the farmers market you can actually ask the farmer questions about the animals who produced the ground meat, steaks, chops, and roasts that you feed your family.

Barbara Donnelly of Red Horse Farm in Exeter is a good example. She waxes poetic about the Shetland sheep she has been raising since 2004. “I bought two adorable Shetland lambs and that is how it started,” she explained. Can you imagine factory farmers using the word “adorable” to describe their livestock? Um...maybe not so much.

Grownups and kids alike not only learn where our food comes from, but there are a host of other reasons why our neighbors converge on a noticeably crowded parking lot at the Peacedale Mill Complex every Saturday morning.

Sharon McMahon said she likes shopping at the farmers market because the food is fresh, a sentiment echoed by URI microbiology major Bridget Griffith who explained that she and her roommates made a back-to-school pact in September to buy no produce from the supermarket “except bananas.” So far, so good, she laughed.

Future Rooted in the Past

Our farming community has deep roots in South County soil. Steve Gardiner’s farming legacy goes back to an ancestor who came to America on the Mayflower. Bill Browning is the 11th generation in his family to nurture the land at Browning Homestead in Matunuck. Just think: Like our State itself, the Browning Homestead was founded nearly 400 years ago.

Asked about the future of farming, Steve Gardiner lamented that less than 1 percent of the U.S. population works in farming today and the median age is probably represented by men and women in their 60s.

He nevertheless expressed hope for the future and mentioned the “great work” being done by the FFA (Future Farmers of America) at Narragansett High School. Senator Sosnowski added, “Agriculture is the brightest spot in Rhode Island. If consumers demand it (quality food), the farmers will grow it.”

Sense of Community

Each week, the South Kingstown Farmers’ Wintertime Indoor Market boasts some two dozen vendors, more than half of whom are growers and farmers. That’s not to say you can’t cobble together a complete meal at the farmers market when you visit this week. In addition to meat and veggies, you’ll find artisan breads and pastries, condiments and jams, honey and sweet treats.

In true community spirit, Market Master Steve Gardiner each week invites non-food but nevertheless kindred souls to participate in the farmers market. Last week, for example, volunteers for South County Habitat for Humanity were there to explain the benefit of their ReStore used appliance and building materials store in Charlestown. A team from provided information about disaster-relief services still available (until May) for those not yet recovered from last April’s devastating flood. And Mike and Marni from Barefoot Diversified were assisting people seeking help with home garden renovation projects.

Perhaps Lynne Hale, visiting from Saunderstown that day, summed up best the farmers market experience: “Shopping at a farmers market for fresh produce sometimes costs a little more but our money supports local farms.”

For more information about the South Kingstown Farmers’ Wintertime Indoor Market, visit the organization’s Web site. For a complete list of farmers markets in Rhode Island, visit FarmFresh Rhode Island.