A recent survey from Farm Fresh Rhode Island (FFRI), a Providence nonprofit food hub, tallied 40 farmers markets operating in Rhode Island during the summer of 2024. That number might not initially appear impressive until you consider that there are only 39 cities and towns in the Ocean State.
Farm Fresh Rhode Island Farmers Market
Ironically, this number doesn’t include the organization’s own primary farmers market. The Farm Fresh Rhode Island Farmers Market happens from November to April inside its facility (10 Sims Ave.) on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. However, FFRI keeps busy during the summer and early autumn by presenting a half dozen markets around Providence.
FFRI began in 2004 after inspiration from Louella Hill, a Brown University undergraduate who desired to upgrade the local food system.
Besides increasing its number of markets over the years, the nonprofit has also started an array of incentives, outreach, educational, and hunger relief programs. They all serve the organization’s mission to make its local food system more sustainable for farmers and consumers and “increase the accessibility and affordability of fresh, local foods.”
Photo Courtesy Farm Fresh Rhode Island
In 2009, Farm Fresh Rhode Island launched its Harvest Kitchen project as a culinary job training program for disadvantaged youths. Harvest Kitchen now has a café supporting youth-made products, along with area farmers and small food producers.
Meanwhile, its local food distribution system, Market Mobile, links New England farmers and other regional food producers with customers and wholesale buyers throughout Rhode Island and Massachusetts to improve food sustainability, local economy, and nutritional well-being. Similarly, Hope’s Harvest purchases surplus produce from local farms and distributes it to Rhode Island hunger relief agencies, who serve this food to 35,000 residents each month.
Making healthy food affordable to financially limited shoppers has long been a central concern for the nonprofit.
In 2007, it created the Fresh Bucks token system to use at its markets since farmers frequently weren’t able to accept Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards.
Two years later, the organization began using Bonus Bucks to give Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) shoppers an extra $2 to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for every $5 they spend using their EBT card. Both these programs are utilized by participating farmers markets around Rhode Island.
Photo Courtesy Farm Fresh Rhode Island
Aquidneck Community Table’s Growers Market
Another laudable Rhode Island farmers market can be found on Aquidneck Island at the southern end of Narragansett Bay. The Aquidneck Community Table’s Growers Market is held on two days in two different towns. On Saturday mornings from early May through October, from 9 a.m. to noon, it operates at 25 Enterprise Drive in Middletown. From late May until the end of October, a marketplace is also held along Memorial Boulevard (between Chapel and Edgar) in Newport on Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 6 p.m.
According to the Aquidneck Community Table’s (ACT) mission, these markets “provide easy access to seasonal, regionally-grown food and greater awareness of the benefits of eating fresh local foods for our health, the strength of our local economy, the viability of agricultural life, and the future of our earth.”
The nonprofit’s Grower Market is stocked with organic and conventionally grown products, along with various local artisans and food businesses.
The organization also offers a free kid’s program, The Food Explorers, where youngsters can expand their food palates by sampling the fruit or vegetable of the week. Additionally, ACT promotes sustainability on the island by having a Bag Share Bin, allowing folks to pick a free reusable bag if they forgot theirs.
Photo Courtesy Aquidneck Growers Market
In 2020, NewEngland.com named the Growers Market the “Best Year-Round Market” for Rhode Island. ACT has also been honored for its community work with the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Award for Newport Community Gardens in 2021 and the Edible Rhody Food-Related Nonprofit Local Hero Award in 2019.
The nonprofit has also teamed up with several organizations and schools to set up community gardens. These spaces grow fresh produce, improve the region’s food system, and educate people — especially children — about healthy eating and food sustainability.
Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market
History is ingrained into Pawtuxet Village Farmers Market (PVFM). The village is one of New England’s oldest communities, while PVFM stands among the oldest farmers markets in Rhode Island.
From the beginning of May through October, PVFM is held on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot of the Rhodes on the Pawtuxet recreational complex in Cranston.
It’s notable to mention that its location is in Cranston — so as not to confuse your navigation systems — because the only northern part of Pawtuxet Village is in Cranston, with the southern part in Warwick.
Photo Courtesy Pawtuxet Village Farmer’s Market
What is less confusing is PVFM’s success in stocking fresh produce from area farmers and prepared food from local makers. To launch its 2024 season in May, Pawtuxet Village hosted a special day that included make-your-own succulents kits, upcycled propagations for plants, and Mother’s Day-geared gifts. With its great mix of locally sourced food items and special activities, it is no wonder that PVFM is so revered in its central Rhode Island community.
