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Fresh produce draws locals, tourists to market

Farmers offer Variety in Hyde Park

By Jessica Beasimer
For Focus
Mike "The cheese guy" Castaldo knows farmers markets, and the Hyde Park Farmers Market is among his favorites.
"I do five markets." Castaldo said. "This one is one of the best. It's nicely run and the people are nice. It's the people that make the market."
Every Saturday through Oct. 28, approximately two-dozen vendors set up shop at the Hyde Park Drive-In Theater on Route 9, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Started four years ago, the market attracts hundreds of shoppers eager for fresh produce and other locally made goods.
Farmers markets support local farmers and the area's economy, market manager Paul Chenevert said. "These are local farmers. They rely on the markets."
And Castaldo chimes in, "You get to sample a lot of foods."
From Castaldo's mozzarella and provolone to Spacey Tracy's Pickles, there are plenty of goodies to taste while perusing the market's offerings. Students from the Culinary Institute of America are sometimes on hand providing cooking demonstrations as well as samples.

Photo by Jessica Beasimer
Krista Warldron sells maple syrup and honey products for Remsburger Maple Farm & Apiary at the Hyde Park Farmers Market
Location is a draw
Dennis Remsburger, owner of Remsburger Maple Farm & Apiary, said the market's location across Route 9 from the Franklin Delano Roosevelt site attracts a lot of tourists, as well as die-hard locals.
Remsburger also serves as the farmers' liaison to the board. "As a vendor, I felt it was important to get the vendors' input. We've been here since the beginning. It's a very good market."
The site offers plenty of free parking and there is a surprising variety of goods for sale: fruits and vegetables, wine, desserts and baked goods, maple syrup and honey, locally-raised lamb, smoked meats, eggs, cheeses and sausage, pickles, jams and jelly. There are also plants, organic tick and mosquito spray, and all-natural dog treats.

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Farmers are on hand to answer questions, provide cooking tips

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Peggy Licitia of Spacey Tracy's Pickles likes the community atmosphere the market provides.
"We meet people from all over, nationally, internationally," she said while offering passers-by samples of chunky olive spread, jalapeno jelly, garlic jelly, and, of course, pickles - pickled peppers, pickled carrots and pickled green tomatoes.
Farmer's markets are also educational, Chenevert said.
"These are the growers of the produce they sell — if you don't know what something is, or how to cook it, they can tell you," he said of the vendors.
Indeed, you can get a history lesson from Castaldo as he explains the traditional methods used to make his Italian cheeses and sausages.
The market also supports the community. Each week a different nonprofit or community organiza­tion is given a tent at the market, and the market has started a scholarship fund.
The $1,000 scholarship is award­ed to a Hyde Park resident to study agriculture, Chenevert said.
Photo by Jessica Beasimer
Mike "The Cheese Guy" Castaldo sells Italian cheeses and sausages at the Hyde Park Farmers Market.