The Roosevelt Island Farmers Market was the focus of a RIOC Advisory on Wednesday. It was odd enough, but one resident puzzled over what it left out. Many popular vendors ignored.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The energetic advisory, unusual for the normally sluggish state agency, began with a cheery, “Roosevelt Island!” It reminded everyone that the Farmers Market would return on Saturday, although it only shut down for a week because of bad weather. It highlighted the nearby Food Scrap Drop Off as well.
“In the first month of 2022, the Food Scrap Drop-Off collected over 4,800 pounds of compost — that’s nearly two and a half tons!”
Written by someone who seems to never have been near the market, it pushes “fresh fruits and veggies,” a big part but far from all the market offers. And, RIOC does not recognize Wengerd Farms, the primary vendor here for decades nor the small galaxy of others also paying for market space.
A resident wrote The Daily in protest: “It never mentions the other vendors who sell amazing breads, meats, mushroom, pickles etc…”
The PS/IS 217 Parent Teacher Association, which putatively runs the market does but with scant public interaction on an obscure webpage:
Regular Farmers Market Vendors include:
- Wengerd Farms (fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, limited meat, and dairy products)
- Hoboken Farms (variety of fresh specialty breads, pasta sauce, poultry, meats, seafood, and dairy products)
- Vesco (pickles and olives)
- Kitchen 36 (homemade soup)
- Ibari (African art products/dry food)
- Mushroom Queens (fresh mushrooms and grow at home bags)
The Roosevelt Island Farmers Market hosts a healthy variety of devoted vendors, often braving foul weather, adjacent to the Motorgate Atrium. If you haven’t visited yet, we hope this gives you a better idea of what you can expect.
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