VITAL COMMUNITIES
Upper Valley Farmers' Markets
Fresh, Fun & Truly Local!
Farmers' Markets Calendar
Scroll down for the December Farmers’ Market schedule in the Upper Valley. Markets are a perfect place to find gifts, including gift cards and market tokens for the farmers’ market lover on your list.
Recipes
Local recipes for local foods. Explore simple ways to eat old and new Upper Valley foods. Organized by ingredient and kitchen-tested by our staff.
Farmers' Markets are Unique
A truly local shopping experience. The vendors are truly local businesses. Most market rules require that vendor booths are staffed by the producer/grower/maker of the products. Meet the person behind the product, hear their story, and learn why their product is unique.
You knew them when…. Farmers’ markets are a perfect venue for new enterprises to meet the public, test their products, build relationships, and grow their dream business. From lettuce to gelato to acupuncture to cupcakes, successful businesses around the Upper Valley have gotten their feet wet at the farmers’ market. Market shoppers get to dive right in with them as they learn, experiment, and grow.
Everything but the kitchen sink. Luckily we have many places to buy from local business owners, and many ways to buy fresh local foods. What sets markets apart is the direct relationship you can have with many vendors in one place whether they sell candles or cabbage or cake.
SNAP at Markets
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families and provides economic benefits to communities. In Vermont, SNAP is also called 3SquaresVT, and many also use the former name ‘food stamps’ as well.
Farmers’ markets around Vermont and New Hampshire accept SNAP benefits via EBT cards. Many of these markets accept debit and credit cards too.
Using a SNAP EBT card at a participating market is fairly easy and may double your shopping dollars. Many Vermont and New Hampshire markets are part of ‘double value coupon’ programs. When SNAP recipients use EBT at these markets, they receive an additional $10 to spend! Our downloadable market schedule indicates which markets accept SNAP EBT and which double benefits.
To use your EBT (or regular debit) card at a market, you will need to visit the booth with the debit card machine. Usually there is a large sign indicating this booth, you can visit NOFA VT’s instructions to see a picture. Swipe your EBT card and enter your PIN, just like you would at any other store. You will receive wooden tokens in $1 increments and a matching amount of Crop Cash (VT) or Granite State Market Match (NH) up to $10 per market day at participating markets.
Use SNAP and double your money at Newport, Claremont, Lebanon, and Wilmot farmers’ markets on the New Hampshire side of the Upper Valley. On the Vermont side, Chelsea, Greater Falls, Hartland, Norwich, Royalton, and Woodstock all accept and double SNAP benefits.
Interested in learning more about SNAP and whether your family might qualify for SNAP benefits? Learn about New Hampshire SNAP here, and Vermont SNAP here.
This project is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture Farmers’ Market Promotion Program, agreement AM170100XXXXG127.
What's Happening
Flavors of the Valley 2019 – Call for Vendors!
Vend at Flavors of the Valley!
Registration is open for the 18th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley’s premier local food tasting expo. [...]
Apply for a Farm to School Mini-Grant!
We are excited to announce the 2019 mini-grant program from Vital Communities' Upper Valley Farm to School Network! Funding is available to both Vermo [...]
Food Hub Forum for Farmers February 6!
Join Vital Communities and Food Connects
Wednesday February 6 from 4-6 pm
at Piecemeal Pie in White River Junction
for a forum to learn about how y [...]
Vendor Mini-Grants for Flavors!
Vital Communities is pleased to announce mini-grants for 2019 Flavors of the Valley vendors!
These grants will help your farm, food business, [...]
Whole Farm Planning Group
Starting or running a farm business can be all-consuming, with tyranny of the urgent monopolizing your days, leaving little time to think about the bi [...]
2018 Farmer Celebration Mixer
Join us to celebrate the work we did together in 2018!
Do your chores early, leave the spreadsheets behind, and come share some beer, crepes, and far [...]
Farmers’ Market Roundtable
Join Vital Communities and NOFA VT for a
Farmers' Market Roundtable
November 7, 2018 from 4-7 pm
at the Wilder Club & Library in Hartford, Verm [...]
Farmers' Market Fresh Cooking Demos in September
Love to shop at the farmers' market, and want to learn a new tip or recipe for cooking with all the great produce that is available this month?
Join [...]
Strengthening Farmers’ Markets
An exciting project for the Upper Valley Farmers' Market Collaborative is helping markets identify areas to improve or strengthen. A market mig [...]
August is NH Eat Local Month!
Enjoy the Local Bounty during NH Eat Local Month
Visit the Farmers’ Market, Join a Virtual Scavenger Hunt, and Eat Local this August
Get your appe [...]
Photo credits: Julia A Reed and Molly Drummond
Vital Communities Program News
Flavors of the Valley - Call for Vendors!
Vend at Flavors of the Valley! Registration is open for the 18th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley’s premier local food tasting expo. With 50+ vendors and more than 1000 attendees, Flavors is a valuable marketing opportunity for ...more
Thinking Local First
Shop or Buy Local First is a common call to action. The threat to local businesses with competition from online commerce is real and growing, so it is important to patronize local businesses if we ...more
Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready!
Get your bike, boots, or shoes ready! From our friends at Local Motion comes the Winter Edition of Vermont's Bike-Walk Challenge, February 1 to 8! Simply record two bike or walk commutes in the Go! Vermont app ...more
The Housing Shortage Affects All of Us
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Join Vital Communities at Northern Stage!
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Local First Members Give Back!
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Think Local First & SAVE this Season!
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Seeking Bids from Solar Installers by Nov. 30
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Thank you, Ben!
This summer we had the privilege of working with Ben Fletcher, pictured second from left. Ben brought an incredibly well suited array of skills to Vital Communities and was a boon to the Valley Quest ...more
Donuts & Hogwarts: A Transit Travel Training Case Study
One thing a group of Millennial cartoonists doesn’t need is help using a smartphone app – especially an intuitive one that shows the real-time location of buses in the rural transit system, Advance Transit. No, ...more
Lebanon Area Businesses - Join us on Sept. 27
So many small businesses in the Upper Valley are burdened with high energy costs. And not enough time to do anything about it! We've got some good news for you. A group of Lebanon residents are ...more
Bird and Quest
The Vermont Center for Ecostudies lists 382 species of bird that occur in Vermont, whether year-long resident or migratory visitor. The VCE’s Vermont Atlas of Life citizen science operation has recorded sightings of 332 of ...more
Subbasin Spotlight!
This year's Aquatic Adventure Super Quest showcases the 5 subbasins that make up the Upper Connecticut River Valley, or, more fondly, the Upper Valley. A subbasin is a term used to describe a watershed within a ...more
A Lot Lighter with More Hands: Leadership Upper Valley
On the bright, sunny morning of June 13, Cobb Hill was waking up, and the soon-to-be graduating 2018 Leadership Upper Valley class was just arriving for their final meeting. Before the ceremony at Harpoon Brewery, ...more
Buses are FREE Thursday for Dump the Pump Day!
Join people around the Upper Valley and nationwide and take the bus Thursday, June 21 for the 13th annual Dump the Pump Day. Stagecoach and Connecticut River Transit ("The Current") will be FARE-FREE. And Advance Transit ...more
Longevity & Commitment: Keynote Remarks from Heroes & Leaders 2018
Editor's Note: Many thanks to Kevin Peterson, Director of Economic Development for the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, who offered the keynote speech at our May 3 Heroes & Leaders celebration. Read his complete remarks ...more
Long-Standing Stewards: Heroes & Leaders 2018
Every spring, Leadership Upper Valley, a program of Vital Communities, hosts a Heroes & Leaders celebration to recognize individuals who make significant contributions to the greater Upper Valley region. This year, Heroes & Leaders is ...more
Get Stoked on Automated Wood Heat!
Boiler on its last legs? Looking to opt out of fossil fuels? Come learn about today's self-stoking automated wood heat! Opt out of oil with delivery of local wood pellets and whole home wood heating ...more
