Lewes farmers market sets volunteer appreciation day Nov. 15

The Historic Lewes Farmers Market will be open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15, at Lewes Elementary School parking lot, 820 Savannah Road.

Market organizers ask patrons to thank a volunteer this Saturday for all of their hard work this season. For 20 years, volunteers have been essential to fulfilling HLFM’s mission to support family farmers and help feed the community. 

To support pantries at Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach and Casa San Francisco in Milton, an extra food and essentials drive will be held Nov. 15 and 22.

The food pantries request certain nonperishables including spaghetti sauce, pasta, peanut butter, jams and jellies, canned fruits/vegetables/soups, boxed cereal, powdered or shelf-stable milk, rice and beans. Shoppers are asked to honor the HLFM's mission and the needs of people who use the food pantries by providing healthy foods. Diapers, menstrual hygiene products, and laundry detergent are also badly needed, and can be dropped off at the HLFM food drive table next to the information tent. Pantries always need fresh produce, meat and eggs, so customers are also urged to purchase these items from market growers to donate as well.

Carts will be placed near entrances for customers to place any donation items brought from home.  The HLFM thanks its customers for their continuing generosity.

Shoppers will find cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, squashes, beets, cabbage, collard greens, kale, radishes, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuces, apples, turnips, eggplants, radicchio, mizuna, arugula, microgreens, kohlrabi, sweet and hot peppers, seasonal soups, live crabs, hand-picked crabmeat, grass-fed chicken, beef, pork, mushrooms, honey, jams and jellies, fresh-laid eggs, coffee drinks, kombucha, cold-pressed juices, apple cider, fresh-baked breads, pastries made with fruit from market farmers, gluten-free offerings, beautiful cut-flower bouquets, pumpkin centerpieces and much more. 

The HLFM is producer-only, so customers are able to buy directly from the farmers who grow the produce.

The market typically processes payments from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, and Women, Infants and Children Program benefits. The market will provide all customers who have a SNAP card $20 in HLFM Bonus Bucks tokens to spend at the market, without the need for a match with their benefits. The HLFM will offer this additional assistance through the Saturday, Dec. 6 holiday market at the end of its season.

Customers may go to the SNAP tent inside the market for volunteers to process remaining SNAP/EBT benefits and give $20 in HLFM Bonus Bucks tokens for use at the market. Customers must present their SNAP card at the tent to receive the tokens.

In the SNAP tent, customers can also find a list of 17 local-area food pantries that receive food from small farmers through the HLFM Farm to Community Program for additional assistance. Pantry names, addresses, phone numbers and hours will be provided on the list.

Patrons should note that dogs and other pets (except for service animals) are not permitted inside the market area, in order to ensure the safety of customers, vendors and volunteers.

Organizers encourage customers to bike or walk to the market if able; the entrance for walkers and bikers is off Savannah Road. Parking is available in the school's bus loop parking lot off Sussex Drive, with coned-off accessible parking spaces in the section closest to the market. Customers may also use the Fred Thomas Middle School parking lot. Beebe Healthcare generously allows market customers to park in its outside parking lot, and there is parking available at George H.P. Smith Park, a short walk away along the path to Lewes Elementary School.

The HLFM Thanksgiving Market will be Nov. 22, and then after a Saturday off, Dec. 6 ends the season with a special Holiday Market.

For more information, including market maps and vendor listings, what each vendor is bringing to market, and chef demonstrations and events, join the HLFM weekly newsletter list by emailing info@historiclewesfarmersmarket.org and go to historiclewesfarmersmarket.org.