The Alternative Press

MAPLEWOOD, NJ - Bread, vegetables, pickles, fruit, and gelato, the Maplewood farmers' market has it all! Open from Monday afternoons and early evenings throughout the summer, local farms and businesses set up tents in the Municipal Street parking lot to sell fresh, mouthwatering products. On a hot recent afternoon, customers stopped by the cool, shaded market to see what it had to offer.

One of the tents at the Maplewood farmers market belonged to Zaatar, a local business that makes homemade falafel, hummus, and tabouli.

Jersey Fresh Farms, Alstede Farms, and Stony Hill Farm were scattered throughout the lot. They all sold fresh fruit and vegetables in their tents and kept additional produce fresh in trucks behind the tents.

Green Acres Farm vendor Peggy Samuels set up a tent across from Alstede Farms. She sold traditional loaves of bread like sourdough, rye, etc., but also sold different bread products like banana bread and muffins. Samuels said that the business’s bread products are mixed with local organic flour.

In the corner of the market stood a Dr. Pickle tent, one of the more common businesses found at local farmers markets. The Dr. Pickle vendor sold pickled vegetables that were stored in barrels lined up toward the front of the tent. To Dr. Pickle’s left was Lickt Gelato advertising different flavors of artisan gelato and sorbet. All Lickt products are made from seasonally relevant ingredients and all natural ingredients.

The Maplewood farmers market is open on Mondays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. until Oct. 22.