The Altamont Farmers Market expanded Saturday, July 19, and will feature more choices from a wider variety of vendors for the rest of the season.
The expanded market will allow patrons to purchase products from Sap Bush Hollow Farm, Longfield Farms, Altamont Orchards and Fancher’s Creekside Farm.
Gary Kleppel, owner of Longfield Farms, is one of the primary organizers of the expanded Saturday market. He said Altamont Mayor James Gaughan contacted him to participate, and he began contacting other local farmers.
The main reason he helped organize the market is because he believes it is vital for the producers of a community’s food to have face time with the public, he said.
When you talk to the person who provided your food, you get an idea of who that person is. You know if you can trust them, said Kleppel, who sells baked goods at the market.
He said it is important to show people in the community you can provide local sources of food and energy, and he pointed out there are now 19,000 major farmers markets in the country, not counting smaller the ones that slip under the radar.
Kleppel, a professor at the University at Albany, also helped organize the farmers market at the university and pioneered a movement to have the school serve pasture-fed beef, which is more expensive, to students.
Kleppel teaches graduate-level courses in public administration and biology.
`I have been working in sustainable agriculture and land usage for about a decade, a little more,` Kleppel said.
He said Jim Hayes of Sap Bush Hallow Farm, which sells a variety of meat products at the market, has been a mentor to him and pioneered many sustainable agricultural techniques.
He said he is concerned with people purchasing meat from non-local vendors. He said there was a ground beef recall six months ago in California and that much of the 143 million pounds involved in the recall has not yet been accounted for.
He cited a case of a strain of mad cow disease that was discovered in Cape Cod, Mass., which could be related to the recalled beef, as another reason to not eat meat that is not local.
Kleppel said many producers do not employ safe practices.
One symptom of mad cow disease for animals is falling over and not being able to get back up, and, Kleppel said, he has seen photos of `downer` cows being fork-lifted into meat processing buildings, which is against the law.
`The small producers are doing it right and the big producers are doing it wrong,` Kleppel said. `Grass fed beef is more expensive, but if you can’t afford it you should become a vegetarian.`
Adele Hayes, co-owner of Sap Bush Hollow Farm, said some of her customers urged the farm to participate in the market.
Sap Bush Hollow Farm is selling pasture-raised, or grass fed, meats, chickens and sausages.
`I participated in it last year. We were asked to come by customers we have here in the area,` Hayes said.
She said she is hoping this year yields more patronage than last year’s farmers market.
`There have not been a whole bunch of customers, but I think it takes a while to build a farmers market. You have to make a commitment,` Hayes said. `Most farmers markets get better and better each year.`
She said the customers that have made it out so far have been great. She also said the area of the village where the market is set up is beautiful, and a great central location.
Jim Abruzzese, co-owner of Altamont Orchards, also said the customers were one of the reasons he continued to participate in the market.
`They really appreciate that I’m there, and they really appreciate that they can get something locally grown in the county,` he said. `[The market] works for us. It is close to our home and gives our farm a little more exposure.`
Guilderland public relations spokeswomen Linda Cure said the Altamont Farmers Market is three years old, and for the past two years they featured expanded vendors on Saturdays. Altamont Orchards sells goods every day except Tuesday, while the other vendors will only be there on Saturdays.
The Altamont Village Farmers Market is located at the Altamont Historic Train Station on Main Street. Its hours of operation are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from noon to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to its Web site.
The market will operate through the summer and into the fall, and feature products associated with the season such as apples and cider, Cure said.
`They go as long as there are products available,` Cure added.“