What is drawing communities into local farmer’s markets?

November 17, 2025

By Mia Verdi

ROCKVILLE CENTER, N.Y. – The Long Island Grower’s Market has been operating for over 34 years, according to coordinator and farmer Ethel Terry. Their Rockville Center location is one of many that supports local communities through their weekly farmer’s markets. After 34 years of farming, baking, and crafting, what makes the Long Island Grower’s Market so special?

In an interview, Terry said that it all started out of necessity – “we were losing our farm because we were doing wholesale, not retail, and we realized we had to change our business plan up.” This change-of-plan took the shape of the first farmer’s market on Long Island, located in Islip. Terry said, “markets in turn, saved our farm.” A farm that has been running for almost 400 years.

Now, trends in consumer behavior – specifically with produce – are drawing shoppers into farmer’s markets like this one. Farm Journal says that a current consumer trend is “food as medicine,” which is not a new concept, but “interest in the movement continues to gain traction as younger consumers increasingly turn to fruits and vegetables for health benefits.”

Vendors at the Rockville Center Long Island Grower’s Market are providing fresh, quality produce that consumers can trust. Terry says that the produce from her farm is “fresh picked for the market that day or the night before.” Unlike corporate retail supermarkets, which Terry says, “you don't know where that product is coming from.” This approach is truly farm-to-table, ensuring that customers get the most out of their produce.

What makes farmer’s markets so important to their communities is their ability to “revitalize downtown areas,” according to Terry. They sustain local towns, as she says farmer’s markets don’t go looking for communities, rather “municipalities come to us and ask us to open up farmers markets in their town to draw more people in.”

To sustain the community further, the Rockville Center farmer’s market supports Sharon’s Garden, “a youth-led community service project created to supplement Sharon's Pantry of Rockville Centre with fresh produce.” They are present at the farmer’s market, collecting donations from customers, buying from the vendors, and delivering the produce to the community every Sunday evening.

What makes this farmer’s market so special isn’t just their quality produce and ability to keep up with trends. It’s their commitment to feed their neighbors, and to make their town a better place.

For more information on the Rockville Center farmer’s market or other locations, visit LongIslandGrowersMarket.com.