Middletown’s North End Farmers Market Open For the Season, Selling Freshly Picked Produce

Cassandra Day, the Middletown Press

The downtown farmers market is celebrating a decade of offering freshly picked fruits and vegetables to the public in the city’s North End.

North End Action Team Farmers Market vendors kept cool beneath their booth awnings Friday, a hot summer afternoon — the third in a series of 90-degree or higher temperatures which set off Connecticut’s first official heat wave. … 

Americorps FoodCorps Connecticut service member Paige Petit, who is stationed at Macdonough Elementary School on Spring Street and knows most of the students, was tabling the NEAT booth Friday morning.

“It’s really awesome, because a lot of them will recognize me, and that will be what stops them on the road, and then we talk a little bit. Hopefully, that encourages them to come back with their families,” Petit said.

Dmitri D’Allesandro, owner of Middletown Framing and a member of the NEAT Board of Directors, is pleased to see the market reach 10 years of existence.

The Double Dollars program allows people who receive SNAP or WIC benefits or senior vouchers $1 for every $1 they spend at the market — essentially offering them half-price on products.

“Over time, it definitely has really gotten a lot of use from the people who can most benefit from it. The seniors are very steady customers. It’s perfect for them because it’s the middle of the day,” D’Alessandro said.