By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
The Walpole Farmers Market officially opened for the summer season last Friday, as vendors from Walpole and around the region gathered at the opening day.
From fresh local produce to chocolate and sweets to lemonade, the Walpole Farmers Market features a number of vendors this year offering a number of items for sale.
This year, the Walpole Farmers Market has moved from its old spot at the town common. It is now located at the 1A Marketplace at 653 Main Street every Friday from 1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Among those with fresh food offerings included Carol Johnson, Kathi Garvin and J.J. Vasquez, who staffed the Walpole Schools Garden Project booth.
The booth features fresh produce planted and cared for by Walpole elementary school students at gardens set up in front of each elementary school in Walpole. A number of offerings are available, including beans, peas, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers and more.
The produce are being offered in exchange for a small donation to the program. Johnson noted that there is no hard donation amount set, and the stand gladly accepts what people are comfortable paying for the produce.
“The kids really love the gardens,” Garvin said.
“It’s really been a community effort,” added Johnson, who noted that the elementary school gardens receive support from a number of people, including the Walpole High wood shop class, who helped design wooden structures for the plants, Norfolk Aggie students who help care for the plants, and more.
While there are several booths that offer fresh fruits and vegetables at the market, there are also other offerings.
Ron Muccitelli was on hand to staff the Amego booth. Amego is an Attleboro-based non-profit that helps to support people living with autism spectrum disorders. The non-profit provides a variety of programs and services, including resident homes, day programs, therapy programs and more.
Muccitelli will be selling homemade goods at the Walpole Farmers Market, including brownies, cupcakes and more that were baked by Amego residents and those in Amego’s therapy programs.
“I think we did well today,” Muccitelli said as the first day of the farmers market wrapped up. “It’s a double tradeoff, not only did we make sales, but all the money goes right back to our organization.”
For more information about the Walpole Farmers Market, visit walpolemafarmersmarket.com.
