Flanders farmers market set for second year

Farm produce will fill the Flanders farmers market for a second year, providing fresh foods to the rural East End.

The market mirrors a statewide effort started by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last year to bring just-picked fruits and vegetables to low-income and rural areas.

Spearheaded by Southampton Councilwoman Bridget Fleming, the Flanders market opened last year at the David W. Crohan Community Center, featuring vegetables and fruits from nine local farms. The town incorporated a youth program that employs local teens to work at the market.

The town board, during its meeting earlier this month, approved a second year for the market at 655 Flanders Rd. The opening date has not been set.

The Flanders market will continue to accept food stamps as well as other government food program vouchers, Fleming said. Doing so is important in an area with low-income families and no supermarkets supplying fresh food, she said.

"Our goal is to have it be self-sustaining," Fleming said. The program now operates on private donations.

Last year's pilot market was such a success that Fleming wants to expand it.

The state's FreshConnect program, announced last summer, also promotes farmers' markets that feature local produce in underserved and rural communities, and allow the use of food stamps.

"Farmers markets increase farm sales and revenue by bringing farm produce directly to the consumer," Cuomo said in a news release when the program was announced. "These markets also help underserved communities by providing fresh produce, nutritional education and local jobs."