Julian Abele Park Farmers Market

I absolutely love that there is a Tuesday Farmers Market that runs all afternoon and into the evening right in my neighborhood. Julian Abele is a really pretty plot of land and I really hope the market continues through the year (well, as long as possible once the weather starts getting cold — hopefully in the very distant future). It seems like there are usually only one or two vendors so there isn’t a huge selection, but there is always a nice array of local produce, some canned goods and some baked items available.

What a treat every Friday during the harvest months. You can always count on in season fruits and veggies, baked goods are sinfully delish and their cheeses are wonderful.

The fact that there is a farmer’s market at this park is a wonderful thing! People are going gaga over having it and the owners appear to try hard. They make the baked goods and its obvious all the veggies are not from their garden, but that’s fine.
At first it was great, all was super fresh, then a few weeks in I started getting home with stuff finding it not to be that fresh. The cucumbers were older, not firm and ripe, etc. If I wanted to walk back in the heat and exchange it I could have but it wasn’t worth it. It appeared to me that they were left over from the last week but that is mere speculation. I should have looked closer.
There isn’t a selection of organic things, they don’t mention it so I assume they are not organic. Even if they said pesticide free it would be a great help, because I know it costs money to be certified organic.
Because of that I will only be purchasing things with a thick rind, like melons and such.
The baked goods are yummy for what they are but really white bread type things. I tried the whole wheat and it was «wonderbread» type whole wheat. Not fond of the swiss cheese, or the chocolate chip cookies. The sticky buns tasted good… but better buns are found elsewhere. The prices are not cheaper than the super market either, or even other farmer’s markets, which was surprising. I found a better quality of produce at the South Street Supermarket the last week I attended this farmers market.
So yes, its nice to have it there. But I will go to a store that has an organic option and breads with higher fiber counts. Other stores, farmer’s markets and Reading Terminal are better bets for that. That said, if you live near the park, don’t want to go far, and don’t care about eating organic veggies you will love it. It’s about location, location, location. The products are very much like that offered in a non-​organic supermarket.