Sonia DeMarta started a farmers market in Lexington with her friend in 2005 because she wanted to bring better food to her town.
Genevieve Stillman, a farmer, has feelings about farmers markets. “When you shop at a local farmers market, those dollars stay local and save farmland.” But she doesn’t like supermarket food. “Produce looks good at the supermarket, but tastes like nothing.”
Sonia DeMarta, an immigrant from Venezuela, has the same feelings. “I bought apples at the grocery store. They were covered in wax and tasted mealy.” She remembers the public markets she went to in Venezuela: they were “messy and noisy.” Sonia said that the public markets were everywhere and that she loved going to them. She was rejoiced when she discovered the Newton farmers market.
Two years later, she moved to Lexington, but the Lexington farmers market wasn’t there. Sonia asked people where the farmers market was. She read an article titled “Where Have All The Farmers Gone” by Brian Halweil. Sonia learned that there were tons of challenges that farmers had to face worldwide, including “razor-thin margins farms earn by selling to supermarkets” LexObserver said.
Motivated, “DeMarta said to her new friend Lori Deliso in 2002, “We’ve got to start a farmers market!”” LexObserver quoted. But Deliso refused every time Sonia asked. Deliso’s husband, Dave Jick, had started Dave’s Fresh Pasta in 1999, so Deliso knows all the challenges of having a food company.
Even though Deliso was firm about not starting a farmers market, one day she gave in. “Deliso agreed to help and after over a year and a half of research and meetings, DeMarta, Deliso, and mutual friend Raul Marquis recruited about 15 local farmers, food producers, and an army of volunteers to launch the first Lexington Farmers Market (LFM) on a Tuesday afternoon in 2005.” LexObserver said. Andrew Maggiore, a LFM manager, says that “The diversity of vendors at the LFM is really cool.”
Ben Peacock, Farfalle Italian Market’s chef, set up his signs for his first market in LFM. LexObserver said, “Farfalle has been open in Concord for 18 years, and Peacock would like to grow its customer base living in Lexington.”
“But if the community doesn’t shop, it [the farmers market] just doesn’t work,” Genevieve says. “We stopped going [to Shrewsbury] last year and now there’s no market at all in Shrewsbury.”
Today, technology is trying to make our lives easier, so the LFM might feel a little old or inconvenient. However, it feels more like a gift to Lexington’s community because it gives residents a chance to eat fresh produce and feed their families.