Backyard Growers’ annual farmers market, focused on expanding food access, returned to Burnham’s Field last Wednesday and as the nonprofit welcomed area growers, it also celebrated over a decade of facilitating local growing at the downtown park.
The Backyard Growcery will run 2:30-6:30 p.m. every Wednesday until Sept. 30 and will welcome area farmers such as Gloocester’s Cedar Rock Gardens and Methuen’s Pleasant Valley Gardens as well as several Gloucester-based bakers to Burnham’s Field.
Courtney Allen, Backyard Growers’ director of coordination and outreach, said the market’s main focus since its inception in 2023 has been two-fold: increase access to fresh local food and help local growers and businesses establish a customer base.
To increase access, Allen said programs such as SNAP, WIC and senior farmers’ market coupons are accepted and Backyard Growers has its own SNAP match program.
Additionally, Backyard Growers does not charge any vendors’ fees, which helps up-and-coming farmers and businesses get into the market. Further, it will purchase surplus produce from market vendors and donate it to The Open Door, Cape Ann’s food pantru.
“The idea is that this really high quality seasonal food should be accessible to everybody in our community, not just people who can go to a really high-end farmer’s market,” Allen said. “We’ve just been trying to deepen our footprint here at Burnham’s.”
The nonprofit’s footprint at Burnham’s dates to 2015 when a group of residents invited the then young organization to assist in the managing of 20 raised garden beds which the residents started in 2011.
“We maintain all of these garden beds — that’s with the lumber that holds them together but it’s also the healthy soil levels,” Allen said. “We partner with Black Earth Compost for their raised bed mix and we also provide a certain number of free seedlings every season.”
Since 2015 Backyard Growers has expanded from the original 20 beds to a total of 55 beds — used by just as many households — to grow everything from tomatoes for sauce to culturally important produce not easily found in the U.S.
In addition to the increased number of beds, Allen said, Backyard Growers added some educational programs at the park including workshops and harvests with kids as well as community dinners.
“I always say that food is a connector and I think that really comes to life in a community garden because no matter what other things you might not have in common, you’re going to have food in common to a degree,” Allen said.
She said one impact Backyard Growers has been able to make on Burnham’s Field is transforming it into a space more people want to visit.
“Burnham’s Field didn’t always have the best reputation and I don’t want us to take full credit for that shifting but we’ve definitely played a role in making this into a space where people want to come and spend time with their neighbors and families,” Allen said.
Moving forward Allen said Backyard Growers plans on continuing to find ways to expand food access, especially in Gloucester, and continue to grow the market.
“Being able to have a space where people in the community can come together, learn from each other and members of our community can meet the people making and growing their food — I think we want to just keep seeing that expand,” she said.
Staff Writer Bobby Grady may be contacted at 978-675-2714 or bgrady@gloucestertimes.com.