Every Saturday in the warmer months, vendors from the Portsmouth area come together in front of City Hall to share and sell different types of goods they grow and make themselves.

Seacoast Eat Local is a group, founded in 2006, that organizes these farmer’s markets in Portsmouth, Exeter, Durham, and Dover. 

It originally started with a challenge to only eat food produced within 100 miles but has turned into a mission to support farm-to-table shopping. On average, Portsmouth’s Farmers’ Market has between 30 and 50 vendors at the market.

Markets like these are vital for special crafts and trades, local high quality food and building connections, especially here in Portsmouth where we have a pretty special area in terms of ingredients. 

Being so close to the water, we are able to get a special variety of fresh seafood like lobsters, oysters, scallops, shrimp, and more which really shines through in our menus and gives us character. 

Having these types of markets fosters connections between the people selling and the people or businesses buying, and by helping connect people with ingredients and other goods they can get locally. 

While we do have a farmers market, I think we could expand on this idea, as it only runs on Saturdays. 

One way this could be done is with an online farmers market, a system where businesses/buyers order what they need online and the farms can prepare it and have a designated pick-up day. Some farms have this but raising awareness would get more people good, local food but also supports these farms.

 Programs like this can help extend the effect farmer markets have even on the days the actual market isn’t running.

Farms and Farmers’ Markets are extremely important to our little city where we have a unique selection of ingredients, and a competitive and growing restaurant industry and we need to foster the growth and connection between our producers and consumers.

For more information please visit on Farmers’ Markets visit seacoasteatlocal.org.