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Nutrition: Farmers Markets

COVID-19 and Farmers Markets

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many NYC farmers markets remain open as an essential service and have implemented new physical distancing measures. Hours of operation for specific markets are subject to change. Confirm if the market you plan to visit is open:


You can get affordable and fresh local produce at NYC farmers markets, with more than 130 locations throughout the five boroughs.

All NYC farmers markets accept Health Bucks coupons and most accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or foods stamps) benefits on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. There are several ways to find a farmers market near you:

For more information about farmers markets or any of the programs and resources described below, email farmersmarkets@health.nyc.gov

Stellar Farmers Markets Program

The Just Say Yes to Fruits and Vegetables Stellar Farmers Markets program provides free nutrition education workshops and cooking demonstrations at select farmers markets throughout NYC from July to November. The program builds participants' knowledge and skills about how and why to prepare healthy meals using fresh, seasonal produce. Workshops are open to the public and are provided in multiple languages. All participants aged 18 years and older will receive a $2 Health Bucks coupon for attending and completing a survey.

Groups can schedule a visit by emailing eatwell@health.nyc.gov.

Many farmers markets host nutrition-related activities, such as food activities for kids, cooking demonstrations or adult nutrition workshops. To find out if a market hosts nutrition-related activities, email farmersmarkets@health.nyc.gov.

Resources for Community Organizations

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Farmers Market Walking Tours

Introduce clients, patients, co-workers, community members and family and friends to everything your local farmers market has to offer by leading a walking tour. Learn more about leading a tour and check out some ideas for activities to make your tour fun and educational:

Start a Farmers Market Nutrition Education Program

Nutrition education and culinary demonstrations at farmers markets benefit shoppers and farmers. Community organizations are ideal leaders for these programs because of their experience with and knowledge of community needs.

For help planning your program, use:

Curricula

Choose one of the following curricula for your farmers market nutrition education program.

Workshops for Adults

These curricula aim to build nutrition and culinary knowledge and skills for adults. Lessons are interactive, including a nutrition discussion, culinary demonstration and recipe tasting.

  • Just Say Yes Stellar Farmers Markets Lessons (PDF): This curriculum focuses on meal planning, budgeting, food safety, portion sizes, healthy beverages, food labels and preparation and storage of local seasonal produce. Each lesson takes about 40 minutes, including interpretation.

  • Cook Fresh at Farmers Markets Lessons (PDF): This curriculum is for shorter workshops focused on the culinary demonstration. Each lesson takes 25 minutes, including interpretation.

When teaching either of the above curricula, use the following handouts:

Workshops for Kids

This curriculum encourages children ages 3 to 11 to eat more fruits and vegetables by engaging them in hands-on activities. During these 25-minute lessons, children explore different kinds of produce and taste featured recipes.

Recipes

Use the following recipes for your education workshops. Each recipe highlights local produce available at farmers markets, farm stands and food boxes in NYC and beyond. They are arranged in alphabetical order by main ingredient.

Educator Training Materials

Community organizations can train educators to conduct nutrition workshops and culinary demonstrations at farmers markets or farm stands.

For more information, review the guides below and choose the training video that corresponds to the curriculum you’ll be implementing.

Culinary Demonstration Tips for Educators

Use our tips to help you prepare for culinary demonstrations. They include talking points to share with participants during workshops and information to help with the preparation of recipes samples at the market. Our tips provide substitution notes, yield and preparation tips.

Other Ways to Find Local Produce

Pre-Paid Food Boxes

Pay one week in advance and pick up fresh, local produce at a convenient location in your neighborhood. You can pay with an EBT card, Health Bucks, cash, credit and debit.

For more information, including locations, visit GrowNYC or Corbin Hill Food Project.

Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture allow residents to have direct access to fresh, local produce by purchasing a “share” of vegetables from a regional farmer. Weekly or bi-weekly, the farmer will deliver a share of produce to a convenient drop-off location in your neighborhood.

For more information, visit Just Food.

Additional Resources

More Information