Shop Local, Sharpen Your Knives, Slurp Oysters at Aquidneck Growers Markets

I don’t know about you, but in recent years I’ve become increasingly skeptical of and disillusioned with the big corporate food chains, and not just for their often-subpar products, grown who knows where. These are the guys who had a legitimate reason to raise prices during the supply chain nightmare of the pandemic, but completely illegitimate reasons to keep those prices so high while their now record-breaking profits continue to soar. If you need paper towels and tuna fish, what are you going to do?

With 59,076 acres of farmland and 1,054 farms, consumers have options for our food purchases here in Little Rhody and 72% of all our state’s farms are individually- or family-owned. Supporting our community members while taking back a few of those corporate dollars we’re handing to fat CEOs feels nice, and tastes good.

“It’s all about supporting local businesses and creating a more resilient food community,” said Tiverton’s Roots Farm co-owner Kelli Roberts, whose haul for this week is set to include zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, onions, garlic, potatoes, chard and more. “And we pretty much sell everything we bring to the market,” she said.

It’s easy, fun and downright neighborly to replace some of the fresh produce, fish and meat you buy with stuff grown and raised down the street, in the next town over, or just across the bridges, in a one-stop spot. Aquidneck Community Table hosts two lively, family-friendly Growers Markets in the Newport area weekly, on Wednesdays at the top of Memorial Blvd. from 2 to 6 p.m., and on Saturdays at a vast green space with unlimited parking in Middletown at the Embrace Home Loans property from 9 a.m. to noon.

“It’s a little hard to find, but once you do, it’s a really cute place for a market,” said Portsmouth’s Local Patch co-owner, Amy Smith, of the latter. Her harvest for this week includes cherry tomatoes, French beans, gourmet eggplant, summer squash, early strawberries and other crops. “Come see where your food comes from,” she said of the markets.

And the markets offer much more than just bunches of beans.

Live acoustic music sets the tone for the Euro-style events, which feature the harvests of fruit and vegetable farmers; the pasture raised meats, poultry and eggs of area ranchers; and the fresh catch of our fishermen. You’ll find an eye-opening array of rotating vendors selling locally grown mushrooms and flowers, local honey, maple syrup, sea salt and fresh pasta. Hungry? Grab and go options like Aquidneck Oyster Co. oysters, shucked on-site for slurping, warm empanadas by the Perfect Empanada or Empanada Assassin, freshly pressed Roots juices, iced and hot coffee from the Coffee Guy and Grafik Coffee, gorgeous baked goods (the cinnamon babka from NAVAD bakery is life-changing) and even noodle bowls to go by James Beard Award-nominated Yagi Noodles are all on site (check the website for specific days).

Home cooks that need their knives sharpened are in luck. Every Wed. and some Saturdays, shoppers can drop their knives with Slowhand Sharpening or B’ladies and pick them up ship-sharp on their way out. Also available for purchase are a variety of items made by area craft vendors, weavers and makers of herbal tinctures and lotions. For kids, there’s a special Passport Program that teaches them about where and how foods are grown and raised.

Aquidneck Community Table, whose mission is “to grow a healthy local food system, accessible to all on our island,” counts addressing food inequity as one of its central goals. “It’s important to note that food insecurity rates in Newport are high; we need to do a deeper dive into food equity,” said newly appointed ACT executive director Rose Jones. Look for a full story on Jones’ vision for the organization and its many programs later this year.

Many market vendors offer discounts, including for senior citizens, SNAP program customers and others, and thanks to Jones, an additional “share market” is having a demo season on Mondays, through August 12, from 2 to 4 p.m. A program piloted by The Elisha Project, this market offers produce grown locally at community and school gardens at no charge to those in need.

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