The Salisbury Farmers Market will be located this summer at the former Wrenn House Restaurant parking lot located across the street from Rowan Public Library, at the corner of West Fisher and South Jackson streets.   The  market will continue to operate two days a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m.-noon.

Salisbury Academy students learned about finding healthy foods through a scavenger hunt field trip in the community.                                                      

As part of a unit on nutrition, Salisbury Academy first- and second-grade students visited Food Lion and the Salisbury Farmers Market. During their trip to Food Lion, students learned about where to find healthy foods in the grocery store, worked in small groups on a healthy foods scavenger hunt, and bought a healthy snack. At the Farmers Market, students met with local vendors and explored.  Read More....

Shopping at the farmers market is the easiest way to eat locally. You know where the food comes from: After all, the grower is right there and you can ask them. More than one shopper, however, has come home with bags of produce that went uneaten. And many others have left after a morning's tour around the stalls only to go home with a bunch of carrots and a dazed expression. A bit of planning can keep weekly shopping for produce at a farmers market fun and make cooking a snap all week long.

1. Know Your Seasons

If you know a bit of what to expect when you get to the farmers market, making decisions at each vendor’s location is much easier. Learn what grows in your area when and talk to the growers about what will be coming to market in upcoming weeks.

2. Go Early or Go Late

The Salisbury Market tends to be less crowded right when we open or just before they close (there are many, many exceptions to this, so try going to your market at different times to figure out the best time for you). For the best selection, go to the farmers market early. The best goods go first. Popular-but-limited items may even sell out before the day is done. It’s as simple as that.

3. Bring Big Bags & Small Change

Make sure everything gets home from the farmers market without crashing onto the sidewalk or spilling onto the floor of your car by bringing your own sturdy canvas or nylon bags. A backpack can make the hauling easier, especially for weighty or bulky items. Although vendors will make change, purchases will go easier and faster if you have exact (or close to exact) change.

4. Sketch Meals Ahead of Time

Since you know what you're likely to find at the farmers market, you can do a bit of meal planning and shop accordingly.

5. Plan For Spontaneity

Yes, you’ll fare better if you plan your trip to the farmers market. However, you need to leave a bit of wiggle room for those strawberries you didn't know would be at market so early, or the zucchini blossoms you've never tried before. Trying new things is part of the fun of going to farmers markets.

6. Work In Volume

The best deals at the farmers market are had when you buy in bulk. You'll enjoy the best flavors and the best prices when you buy lots of whatever is at its harvest peak. How to use it all up? Try new recipes with favorite vegetables or learn the lost art of preserving food. Freezing, canning, and drying are just some of the ways you can save seasonal tastes you find at the farmers market for later in the year.

7. Think "Whole Foods"

Think in terms of how food grows and comes to the farmers market without being processed first. Carrots come whole and unpeeled. Beets still have greens (and dirt) attached. Learning to handle just-harvested produce can take some getting used to, but the superior flavor is worth the adjustment.

8. Get Advice

If you find a vegetable that’s new to you at the farmers market and want to give it a try, ask the farmer how to prepare it. For the best tips specifically ask how they like to eat it.

9. Invest in Wheels

If you buy a lot every week, consider acquiring a wheeled cart or wagon (strollers make wonderful conveyances for fruits and vegetables) to get your haul from the farmers market home in one trip.

10. Keep It Simple

You’re buying ultra-fresh produce when you shop at the farmers market, so let its natural flavor show when you cook it. Keep preparations simple. You’ll make cooking easier and you’ll be likely to try (and eat) even more local foods from the farmers market next week.