Bronx Neighborhood Farmers Markets Return for the Summer

The farmer market at Montefiore is open Thursdays. (Photo by Justin Bodden)

The warm weather means the return of outdoor farmers markets, offering a variety of fruits, vegetables, baked goods and other farm-fresh items. Today, a new farmers market, run by Bronx high school students in conjunction with Community Board 8 and GrowNYC, is opening up near the Kingsbridge Armory. It's a new addition to our comprehensive list of Bronx markets, which you can find below. (If we missed any, fill us in with a comment.)

New York Botanical Garden Green Market
Where: The Mosholu Gate, on Southern Boulevard between Mosholu Parkway and Bedford Park Boulevard
When: Wednesdays, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Poe Park Green Market
Where: 192nd Street, between Grand Concourse and Valentine Avenue
When: Tuesdays, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Kingsbridge Heights Youth Market
Where: West Kingsbridge Road, between Reservoir and Aqueduct Avenue
When: Fridays, 1 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Bronx Borough Hall Greenmarket Reopens Today

(file photo)

The greenmarket at Bronx Borough Hall, at 161st Street and Grand Concourse alongside Joyce Kilmer Park, reopens today. It will return every Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until December 27.

The market features fruits and vegetables from Migliorelli Farm in Duchess County and Morgiewicz Produce in Orange County, as well as fresh baked goodies from Not Just Rugelach in Hudson County, NJ, and honey from Ballard's Honey based in Delaware County, NY.

Food Stamps/EBT payments are accepted.

Food Stamp Use at Farmers Markets Doubled This Year

The City Council announced yesterday that the number of low-income New Yorkers using food stamps at the city's outdoor greenmarkets is higher than ever before. Residents spent over $500,000 in food stamps to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the markets last year, double the amount spent in 2009.

City politicians and food advocacy groups have been campaigning for more greenmarkets to accept food stamps, seeing it as one way to increase access to healthy foods in neighborhoods where they're usually hard to find. This fall, the greenmarkets at Bronx Borough Hall, Lincoln Hospital, the New York Botanical Garden and Poe Park all accepted EBT card purchases--at Poe Park, over $500 a day came in via food stamps.

Local markets will open up again this spring and summer, though there are several in Manhattan that operate year-round. Locations and schedules can be found here.

Bronx Events: Discovery H.S. Farmers Market This Thursday, 11/18

Discovery High School students installed a living green wall at an NBC store in Manhattan. (Photo courtesy of Steve Ritz)

Student at Discovery High School in Kingsbridge will be hosting a farmers market this Thursday, Nov. 18 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., featuring organic vegetables, herbs and plants that they grew themselves with green walls and in-classroom gardens. A news crew from CNN will be on hand to film the market for a segment they're doing on the school's gardening program, which started as part of a lesson in teacher Steve Ritz' living environment class.

This is not their first green foray--the students already hosted two luncheons last year, serving only food they grew and harvested. Last week, they built garden installations (with their own irrigation systems!) in the NBC Experience Store, on 49th Street in Manhattan (see above photo).

Stop by Thursday for some fresh organic produce; all proceeds from the market will benefit the school's programs. Other Bronx events this week are listed in our calendar, below.

Editor's note: What did we miss? Send details to bronxnewsnetwork[at]gmail.com.

Bronx Foodie: Cooking Update

I was inspired by last week’s soup post to try cooking one of the recipes. But when I finally found the time at home to make the soup, I realized I didn’t have the ingredients for any one specific soup. So I made up my own recipe for a butternut squash and carrot soup, using what I had in the kitchen.

I was lucky enough to have butternut squash already cooked and in my freezer. In October, I bought the butternut squash at a Bronx farmers market near Yankee Stadium . Once I brought it home, I decided to cook it and freeze it so that I could use it later.

To cook the squash, I cut it in half lengthwise, took out the seeds and put it in the oven on a baking dish for about an hour. Once it was cooked, I cut it into cubes (leaving the skin), placed the cubes in a plastic bag, and froze it.

Back to the soup I cooked, I bought the rest of the ingredients at the Fine Fare supermarket at the corner of Grand Concourse and 204th Street and the produce stand on Bedford Park Blvd.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup
Makes 4 servings

1 TBSP of oil
1/2 TBSP of minced garlic (more if you like it, less if you don’t)
1/3 cup of white onion
1/2 cup of tomatos or one plum tomato
1/2 cup of carrots
1/8 cup of wine (basically a good splash)
1/4 TBSP salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
1 butternut squash, cooked (if frozen, let it thaw first)
1 TBSP of unsalted butter
A couple sprigs of cilantro, chopped (optional)

In a pot, heat the garlic with the oil until it starts to bubble. Then add the onion, tomato, and carrots and let that cook for a couple minutes. Then add the wine and let that cook for a couple more minutes. Next add the stock, squash, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. You can add more stock if you need to. Turn off the heat and let it cool a little. Then transfer to a blender and puree until you get a nice smooth texture.

Then back into the pot it goes. Turn on the heat and add the butter and cilantro and mix together. After another couple minutes, it should be ready. Serve with a salad and bread.