Dorchester Community Food Cooperative Announces Winter Farmers' Market To Open January 8, 2012

PRLog (Press Release) - Dec. 18, 2011 - The Dorchester Community Food Co-op, an initiative to bring a food cooperative to Dorchester, MA, is proud to announce the Dorchester Winter Farmers’ Market. The Winter Market—one of the only farmers’ markets in Boston this season—will open at Noon on Sunday, January 8 and continue from Noon to 3 p.m. each Sunday through March. The market represents a significant step in the effort to ensure year-round, affordable farm fresh food access in Dorchester. It joins other recent innovations in Boston’s vibrant local food culture such as Dorchester’s Pilot Urban Agriculture Project, the Healthy Corner Store Initiative and a citywide bolstering of food trucks. A ribbon cutting will take place at 2 p.m. outside of the market (6 Norfolk Street, Dorchester, MA 02124). Mayor Thomas Menino and other dignitaries will attend.

“I’m thrilled that this winter market is happening in Codman Square, a neighborhood that has a history of vibrant seasonal markets, and a community that is committed to making farm fresh produce accessible.” said Edith Murnane, Director of Food Initiatives for the City of Boston. “We’re happy to be a part of helping to make this market as successful and accessible as possible and I’m thrilled that we’ll be able to make the Mayor’s Boston Bounty Bucks available for the first time during the winter season. I’m looking forward to shopping at the market and to seeing the market become a source of good, local, fresh food for many in the neighborhoods.

The market currently features six vendors committed to bringing a range of winter produce, including potatoes, greens, squash, onions, turnips, celery root, beets, carrots, as well as a variety of meats, including pork, beef, and chicken. Additional products include eggs, jams, mustards, and bread. Rotating craft vendors will bring a variety of artisanal goods, such as textile arts, for sale at the market.

Shoppers are invited to visit the Winter Market on a weekly basis: art, music, educational workshops and other “place-making” activities will add a vibrant layer to the market atmosphere. Themed Market Days, including “Honoring Dr. King’s Vision of Peace,” “Tet: Vietnamese New Year,” and “Dorchester Reads!” among others provide a forum for celebration of social and cultural events pertinent to the Dorchester community. Market Day programming will include workshops from canning to composting, children's entertainment like face painting and valentine making, music, book swaps, local craft vendors and artists, and more.

“We’ve seen the impact of Boston’s farmers’ markets during summer months,” states Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “They’ve brought healthy, fresh, local produce into neighborhoods and have leveraged the buying power of low-income consumers through adding Boston Bounty Bucks double coupons to EBT cards. The new Dorchester Winter Farmers’ Market is an exciting pilot venture to extend these benefits to residents year-round. I applaud the organizers—the Dorchester Food Cooperative planning group—for their innovative and thoughtful approaches to better nutrition and food justice in Boston.”

As the only healthy winter food market accepting EBT/SNAP—as well as Boston Bounty Bucks, an initiative of the City of Boston and the Boston Collaborative for Food & Fitness which doubles the value of SNAP purchases to a total of up to $20—the Dorchester Winter Farmers’ Market is uniquely poised to serve consumers of all income levels.

Housed in the Codman Square Great Hall, a National Register of Historic Places site, the market further energizes an invaluable community space. Now utilized by Codman Square Health Center and the Codman Academy Charter School, the former library building frequently hosts neighborhood meetings, health fairs and civic forums.

About the Dorchester Community Food Cooperative:

The Dorchester Community Food Cooperative is a local food initiative founded in 2011 by residents of Dorchester and the surrounding communities. It is planning to establish a full-service, community and worker-owned food cooperative in Dorchester within the coming years. The “Food Co-op” will offer farm-fresh produce, bulk grains and spices  and  a variety of healthy food and green household products. In addition, it will serve as a community asset and gather space for skill-sharing, civic engagement and health/nutrition education.


The Dorchester Winter Farmers’ Market will run from noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays from January 8 through the end of March. The market is housed within the Great Hall at Codman Square, 6 Norfolk, Dorchester, MA, located at the intersection of Washington and Norfolk Streets. The nearby Shawmut Station provides subway transportation to the area and numerous buses serve the area. For more information on the Winter Farmers’ Market or Dorchester Community Food Co-op, visit http://dotcommcoop.wordpress.com/, email dotcommcoop@gmail.com, or reach out to one of the contacts listed above.