By Benjamin William Stephens
The Port Jefferson Farmers Market is a farmers market created by Port Jefferson Village 15 years ago that is still up and running to this day. The market has over 20 unique vendors selling everything from baked goods, fresh veggies and fresh honey to items you wouldn’t expect like skincare products.
“I think it’s really good because it allows people who have businesses who can’t afford to rent a space,” said Melissa Dunstatter, the market’s manager. Dunstatter had in fact been a vendor at the market before being chosen to run the market. “I started the second year of the market. I was just a vendor in the market and then the third year I took over the market and I’ve been market manager ever since,” she said. While Dunstatter is the market manager she is also with a stall for her business Sweet Melissa Dips selling dips and canned produce.
“Port Jeff is really great. I think the community here really likes to give back,” said Morgan Suchy who has run a stall for the business Pecks of Maine at the market for seven years. “People that come to the farmers market really appreciate local businesses, they’d rather get their fruit preserves, their cheese, their honey from local people instead of big businesses.” Pecks of Maine is a business with a stall at the market selling fruit preserves made from ingredients sourced from Long Island, upstate New York and Maine.
“We love the atmosphere here,” said Naela Zeidan of Naela’s Organics Inc, a vendor at the market which sells homemade traditional Mediterranean foods like Baba Ganoush, spinach pies and date cookies.
The farmers market is located at the Harborfront Park on East Broadway in Port Jefferson. The market has two seasons, winter and summer. During the winter season the farmers market is held indoors inside of the Port Jefferson Village Center but during the summer session the market moves outdoors onto the grassy park grounds. While during the winter session the market is mostly confined to inside of the Village Center there is also an ice-skating rink right next to the center that shoppers can visit during the colder months.
“It’s great that it’s open in the winter . . . we hope more vendors come,” said Anna Hayward who said she shops at the market weekly. “It’s very lovely, everyone is so nice and friendly,” said Megan Leriche, a shopper at the market who said that they weren’t from the area and wanted to see the market before heading home.
April 27 was the last day of the Port Jefferson Farmers Market’s winter session and the summer session will begin on May 18. The final day of the summer session will be November 23, and the winter session will begin sometime during January.
Benjamin William Stephens is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism Working Newsroom program for students and local media.
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