Shopping Locally and Sustainably on the East End
August 04, 2010 | East End Eats
ABOVE: Southampton Farmer's Market. BELOW: Hayground School green house
During summer there are so many options for seeking out locally grown and produced goods on the East End. One of the best is the Community Farmers’ Market at the Hayground School on Fridays (3–6:30 PM). Michael and Emily Deslow, along with Jon Snow of Hayground, began the market as an extension of the Hayground School and their involvement in the East End chapter of Slow Food USA. At the school, kids plant, grow and eat food and sometimes sell it at the market. You can buy nearly everything—from Balsam Farms produce and organic fruit to vegetable-stuffed waffles!
The Southampton and Montauk farmer’s markets are some of the newest. Find the Southampton growers in the parking lot behind the Parrish Art Museum on Sundays (9 AM–1 PM). And on Thursdays (9 AM–1 PM), on the Green in Montauk, a small group of vendors set up shop. If you can’t find the seafood you want there, stop by St. Peter’s Catch or Gosman’s Fish Market for fresh-caught local seafood.
Probably the longest-running is the East Hampton farmer’s market, held in the parking lot behind Nick & Toni’s on Fridays (9 AM–1 PM). Joe Realmuto, executive chef for the Honest Man Restaurant Group (Nick & Toni’s, La Fondita, Townline BBQ, Rowdy Hall), started the market to perpetuate the vision of Nick & Toni’s late founder, Jeff Salaway, a champion of local farms and fishermen. It is a fast-growing market with tons of vendors, including yummy Fat Ass Fudge (a goat’s-milk fudge), Mecox Bay Dairy and Blue Duck Bakery.
Jeff Salaway sculptures in Nick & Toni's garden
I can’t imagine not being able to find what you’re looking for at these markets. So get out there and get shopping, since most of them close in mid- to late September!
