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The Localtrotter: Produce Vibes at Rehoboth Beach Farmers' Market

Taylor Goebel
July 12, 2015
"My wife has been in herbs for over 37 years." "We're the only certified organic farmers in this market. Some people don't want to deal with the hassle and some people lie [about being organic]. [When you are not certified] you can say you're an organic farm but you can't say you sell organic tomatoes. It's a fine line. But when you get to know your farmer you get the feel of it." -Dave and Cheryl Wiley of Herbs, Spice, Everything Nice.
"What's the most interesting thing about cheese?""You have a vat of milk in the morning, then you have it in the cheese mold by the afternoon."
"It's hard work. We're out there working 12 hours a day in season, but seeing someone bite into that peach and saying it's the best one they've ever had - it is instant job satisfaction." Henry Bennett of Bennett Orchards, who gave me a bag of peaches, with which I can now (unsurprisingly) confirm the "it's the best peach I've ever had" bit.
"What's the most interesting bread you've ever made?" Keith Irwin, the owner of Old World Breads Bakery, right away said, "Orange and cardamom."
Bright-and-Juicy was everywhere.
Jar covers from Backyard Jams and Jellies
One ounce of wheatgrass is nutritionally equivalent to two and a quarter pounds of vegetables, according to Cameron Weber and Rochelle Lane of Susie Sunshine Sprouts. "I drink it solely for the health benefits," Lane said, referring to the rather unpleasant taste of the grass.
"I'm going to take a picture of you taking a picture of my sign," the bemused vendor told me. Hey, I like colorful chalk.
"My son is a mushroom farmer. I retired and he put me to work." -The Mushroom Lady, of Davidson Exotic Mushrooms

Grocery stores are inconveniently convenient. They are open for several hours (some never even close) and their endless imported goods increase the items on a consumer's shopping list by at least three times. What windowless, snack-filled conundrum have we trapped ourselves in? But behold, there is a place you can go where there are still no windows because it is outside, where everything is vibrant and local, and you can meet the grower of the produce you buy. Many of us either A) forget that farmers' markets exist or think we don't have the time to go to one B) assume it doesn't carry most to all the items we need or C) are working during them. For A), you can find a farmer's market every day of the week in Delaware; Rehoboth's, the one featured in this blog, is every Tuesday from noon to 4pm. Those who think B) need to reconsider unless their diet consists entirely of takeout and/or processed food. And for C), there are three other markets I can think of in Sussex County: Lewes Farmers' Market is every Saturday from 8am to noon, Georgetown Farmers' Market is every Wednesday from 3pm to 6pm, and Milton Farmers' Market is every Friday from 3:30pm to 6:30pm. Now go out and get your earthly grub on.

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