Groton ― City resident Glenda Walker was picking up lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, and apples close to home Tuesday at the City of Groton Farmers Market in Washington Park.

Walker, who typically goes grocery shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s in Rhode Island, came to the market to buy fresh, local food and support farmers.

As music played and people milled around a variety of vendors, she visited alpacas Gus and Bean from the Lazy K Ranch in Foster, R.I.

“It just reminds me of my grandfather’s home,” said Walker, who spent summers while growing up at her grandfather’s farm in Alabama.

The City of Groton’s Farmers Market has been growing, and the city is trying to expand it. Farmers Market Manager Tim Lebling said the market provides healthy, affordable food and is a community gathering spot where everyone can visit to get snacks, listen to music and pet an alpaca.

Electric Boat and Pfizer employees stop by after work, and local residents walk to the market to have dinner and pick up nutritious food.

Market grows

In 2016, Ledge Light Health District started the market, later run by Thames Valley Sustainable Connections, to offer fresh produce in the City of Groton, which was designated as a food desert, said Mary Hill, the city’s Parks and Recreation director.

A food desert is defined as a low-income area where a substantial number of residents have little access to stores that sell healthy and affordable food.

The city took over management of the market in 2020 in recognition of the importance of residents being able to access healthy food within a close distance of their homes, Lebling said.

Hill said the market has grown and now has 20 to 25 vendors, and City of Groton Mayor Keith Hedrick said he would like to expand the market.

“This is all about community,” Hedrick said.

The number of people who come to the market has grown, particularly in the beginning and the end of the season, said Lebling. The goal is also to reach New London residents.

The city recently received a $5,000 grant from the state Department of Agriculture to help grow the market, Hill said.

Lebling said Groton Utilities also is providing a “dollar-to-dollar match,” up to $20, on those who use EBT/SNAP benefits until Oct. 31.

The market’s two farm vendors, Whittle’s Willow Spring Farm of Mystic, and Smith’s Acres of Niantic, accept the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), he said.

Enjoying fresh produce

Mariko Moher of East Lyme visited the farmers market to get a chipped knife fixed by Knives and Roses. She also picked up fresh corn from Whittle's Willow Spring Farm’s stand, and her daughters, Emiko, 9 and Ayako, 5, petted alpacas Gus and Bean.

“It’s nice to enjoy the last little bit of summer,” Moher said.

Melissa Barry of New London said she plans her weekly menu and goes to the market to pick up kombucha from Wakin’ Up Waggin,’ scallops from J & R Scallops in Stonington, breakfast sausage from Beriah Lewis Farm in North Stonington, and produce from Whittle’s Willow Spring Farm in Mystic and Smith’s Acres of Niantic.

Barry, who is a gardener, said she picks up “a little bit here and a little bit there” to support the farmers.

“It’s a really versatile market,” she said.

Rick Whittle, owner of Whittle’s Willow Spring Farm, said his farm was selling late summer produce ― including the “Montauk” variety of corn that just started its season ― before turning to pumpkins and different types of varieties of apples in October.

Lizzy Harris, garden store sales associate at Smith’s Acres, said she always asks what people plan to make for dinner. She said many people are buying Squash Blossom to fry, and okra for gumbo.

Groton residents and friends Tonni Sherard, 22, and Dhara Shad, 23, who work at Electric Boat, and Lia Franco, 23, and Kelly Mulvaney, 24, who work at Pfizer, were sitting at a picnic table at the farmers market. They said they visited the market to experience the food, the music and the outdoors, adding it was conveniently located.

“It’s really close to where we work,” said Mulvaney.

Catherine Weaver of Groton said she came to the market to pick up fresh food, including peppers, corn, squash, tomatoes, and maybe some apples, peaches, strawberries and blueberries. She said it’s helpful to have the market close to home, and the music was nice and enjoyable.

New London resident Christopher Mayo said he likes “the ambiance, the healthiness, and the joy” at the market.

Community among vendors, customers

Katie Maderia was selling fish out of the J&R Scallops truck to a line of customers. Maderia said this is the fourth year her husband’s business is at the farmers market, as well as selling outside Electric Boat. She said the experience has given them free exposure and was a silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have such a following now that people know to come to the farmers market because they know they're going to get a fresh product,” she said.

Joshua Ulmer, who runs a seafood truck called Joshua Sea, based in Lyme, said: “The people of Groton so far have been great and supportive, and they really like taking care of their local businesses, and it’s definitely been shown ever since I started doing this a couple of weeks ago.”

He added that it’s great working alongside the other businesses.

Jennifer Gregoire, owner of Standish Brook Farm CT of Colchester, said she has been coming to the farmers market for years. She said it’s really fun and she’s gotten to know all the other vendors and has regular customers.

“It’s like a family, like a community,” she said.

In addition to fresh produce, meals and desserts from food stands and trucks, vendors sold an array of arts and crafts, jewelry and flowers. They said they love the interactions with customers and sense of community.

Kelly Jensen of Groton, who recently started the business Jewelry by the Sea to sell jewelry she makes from locally found sea glass, said she enjoys the conversations she has with people when she tells them she found the sea glass at places like Eastern Point Beach.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said.

Sandi Madrak of Make Waves, who was selling items, including candles made from shells found at Hawk’s Nest Beach in Old Lyme, also said she loves talking with the customers.

Groton resident and artist Dawn Bittner of Greenhaus, which sells items such as tea towels and prints, said this is her first market. Since it was close to home, she said it was in her comfort zone. She said she’s met residents and made good friends with other vendors.

“It’s fun to share and encourage the other makers and the other vendors that are here, to see them do well too,” she said.

The City of Groton Farmers Market is held from 3 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays at Washington Park from June through October.

The city also holds a monthly market indoors in the colder months at the City of Groton Municipal Building auditorium.

k.drelich@theday.com