HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Like long, green melons multiplying under umbrella leaves, church-sponsored farmers' markets are growing around the Huntsville area.
With the opening Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon, of the Bailey Cove Farmers' Market at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 12200 Bailey Cove Road, Huntsville now has a triangle of markets, central, south and southeast.
- Greene Street Market just east of the Huntsville Square beside Church of the Nativity, Episcopal, Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. On Facebook as The Green Street Market at Nativity.
St. Thomas' market offers the extra-fresh feature of being accessible to bikers, skaters and walkers on the Aldridge Creek Greenway.
Like the other church-run programs, St. Thomas' market accepts only vendors who are involved in the growing or making of the things they'll be selling. That will include fresh fruits and vegetables, honey, jellies, jams, relishes, dressings, baked goods, popsicles, and flowers. And all of them will live within about an hour's drive of the church.
“Our goal is to connect members of our community with local growers and producers of other farm-related products; to help provide families with fresh, nutritious foods; and to help reduce our carbon footprint by reducing the distance products must travel from farm to table.” said Chrissie Bannister a member of St. Thomas Church and one of the market’s coordinators.
A recent study by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture found that on average a piece of fruit traveled 1,500 miles before it was sold to a consumer. That's long enough to mean most of the produce in conventional stores is headed toward elderly rather than fresh.
Want fresh? Pick a farmers' market to start your grocery shopping. (The Huntsville Times file)
“All of our vendors must be local and must grow or produce what they sell,” Bannister said.
The church has lots of free parking. And offering an objective of a Saturday-morning bike ride or walk offers a double way to help people be more healthy, organizers said.
"The market will be a great way for members of our community to get to know each other," Bannister said.
Entertainer Tony Mason will provide music at the market on opening day.
Does the church name sound familiar? That's because St. Thomas Episcopal Church hosts the annual Lobsterfest each November and a Derby Day Duck Race on Aldridge Creek each spring.
Kay Campbell, religion reporter for The Huntsville Times and
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