The free Farmers Market at Northern Essex Community is open to all students, staff, and faculty at both the Lawrence and Haverhill campuses. The market provides up to 25 pounds of fresh produce to anyone a part of the Northern Essex community.
It is located at the Spurk “C” Building Parking Lot in the Haverhill campus and the Dimitry “L” Building Parking Lot in the Lawrence campus. Usually, appointments run from 12:30-2PM at the Haverhill location and 1:30-3PM at the Lawrence location.
Chloe Green a former Communication Arts/ Journalism major at Northern Essex Community College said “I remember when I first found out about the Farmers Market which was at the Center for Liberal Arts. I was surprised that NECC even had something like that but once I started going, I never stopped. To be honest, that is one of the things I miss the most about Northern Essex. Just by them implementing the Farmers Market shows that they care about their community.”
In order to attend the market event, you have to register prior to arriving. You can locate the dates of when the Farmers Market will occur through their website or via email that is sent out a few weeks prior to the event.
The goal of the Farmers Market is to help prevent food insecurity and provide healthy options for all students, staff, and faculty. The market was curated by the NECC Community Resources Programs, the Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA program, and the Greater Boston Food Bank.
Arismendy Fondeur a Biology major at Northern Essex Community College said that “I am excited to attend the next Farmers Market event. The school that I attended before didn’t have anything like this. I live alone with my younger brother and it’s hard for us to pay our bills every month and then worry about our groceries but I can’t wait to go to the next event so I can take one more thing off my shoulders.”
The Farmers Market is a great resource for the NECC community to rely on to obtain their produce. Though, when the pandemic began there was a hault on the events due to the mandatory lockdowns. The market has since come up with new and innovative ways to provide produce to their community.
Now students, staff, and faculty are able to register online through their website for the next coming event and attend their drive-through market. The volunteers at the Farmers Market are following all COVID safety procedures in order to ensure everyone’s safety.
Moassia Bede a Respitory Care major at Northern Essex Community college said “I love how I can sign up and just drive-through and pick up the food. Everyone is always so friendly, and I feel safe knowing that everyone is social-distancing and wearing their masks. I also don’t have to worry about bringing my newborn daughter out of the car to grab the food.”
Fortunately, the Farmers Market is still operating as normal as possible despite the pandemic.
The next Farmers Market event will take place on Wednesday May 26th at both campuses. You can register ahead of time on their website at https://northernessex.wufoo.com/forms/xj660rw1k9vpim/.
