Portland's summer farmers' market starts early

[Avery Yale Kamila]

The successful Portland Winter Farmers' Market wrapped up this past Wednesday. While the summer market doesn't officially start until May, a handful of farmers intend to show up every Wednesday in Monument Square beginning in April to offer meats, eggs and early greenhouse vegetables.

A food producer recently asked me about how to get involved in the Portland Farmers' Market, and I thought I would share the answer here. The easy answer is that you go to City Hall and fill out paperwork in the City Clerk's office. However, the market has a waiting list that last year I hear numbered about 13 farmers. The other thing to know is that unlike other markets in the state, the Portland Farmers' Market is restricted to vendors who grown or raise the food their selling. This means prepared food vendors are not allowed. However, there is a way around this restriction. As long as a vendor has a license from the city, the vendor can rent a day table from the Public Market House and sell products any day of the week (with Wednesday, of course, being the most popular).

You can read more about the end of the Portland Winter Farmers' Market and the beginning of the summer market on my Portland in a Snap blog at: http://www.mainetoday.com/blogs/inasnap/040395.html