Summer farmers markets are in full swing

A new farmers market has sprouted in Somerville, expanding the area’s already robust selection.

Federal Realty, Assembly Row’s operator, launched the market because its surveys found residents, visitors and workers said it was “something that they were wanting us to kind of explore and see in the neighborhood,” said Hayley Suarez, Federal Realty’s associate director of marketing.

“We’re like, okay, what do we need to do in order to make this happen and bring it here? And the reality was it was not quite as easy and as simple as that, right?,” Suarez said. “There’s a lot that goes into organizing and running a weekly farmers market.”

The Assembly Row Farmers Market, the third in Somerville, won’t have any farmers who are in other markets in the area, said its manager, Bill Sell. He said he didn’t want to compete with the Davis and Union square markets, but was looking to “cohabitate” in Somerville. 

“So their farms were not being invited to ours. I didn’t want to have a single farmer show up in two or three of these different markets,” said Sell. He also manages the Framingham Farmers Market, the largest in the state. Sell said he visited markets elsewhere and spoke to vendors, looking for ones who are “very passionate about the product, about the service that they provide.” The vendors then apply to the market, and the list is narrowed down to accommodate the space available at the site. It has room for 90 stalls/purveyors. 

The Assembly Row Market joins existing popular markets in Central Square, Davis Square, and Kendall Square, all of which are organized by Mass Farmers Markets. Union Square’s market is operated by Union Square Main Streets. Harvard’s popular farmers market in the Science Plaza will be expanding into the Plaza Open Market,  adding “‘treats to eat’ at the Plaza or take home, local artisans, and community-centered activities in collaboration with neighborhood and campus partners,” Julia Crites, the managing director of Harvard Common Spaces, said via email.

One market that might seem like it has gone a bit fallow is the Harvard Square Farmers Market outside the Charles Hotel, which often has only one stall on Fridays. But on Sundays, there are “approximately 12 local farms and producers participate regularly, including six vendors who have been with the market since its earliest years,” Cherie Flores, director of events and specialty marketing at the Charles Hotel, said via email. She added that Fridays feature a smaller group of farmers, reflecting the demands of harvesting and travel while continuing to provide a dependable weekly market for local residents. 

Vendors enjoy a sense of community

Sandra Rojas-Caro is the owner of Empanadas de la Abuela, which operates out of a scratch kitchen in Charlestown and serves Central and Kendall squares, as well as markets in Arlington, and Quincy. She said a highlight of working at the farmers markets “is the relationship with the rest of the vendors. It’s a real community.”

Madison Colantonio founded his ice cream business CaraCara in 2025, offering small-batch custards made in its commercial kitchen in Holliston. Colantonio sells his products at the markets in Central, Davis and Kendall squares, as well as Fish & Farm and Holliston markets.

“Hot days, I’m swamped,” Colantonio said. “It’s good for ice cream for sure.”

Colantonio also invites friends to play music at the markets with the interest of making the spaces more “lively.”

Andy Dellea has been the owner and operator of Charles River Farm for 40 years. He sold his produce wholesale to restaurants until COVID-19, when the “business fell off a cliff.” 

“So I ended up at a farmers market… and it turns out I liked it,” Dellea said. Dellea sells his produce at the Copley Square, Davis Square and Fish & Farm markets, and at two markets in Quincy. He works the markets with his young daughter on days when she isn’t in school. 

Rojas-Caro spent 30 years working in biotech before deciding to go to cooking school. This March, she opened her Chilean empanada business and is in the midst of her first summer in the farmers market circuit. All of Rojas-Caro’s products are made from original family recipes. 

“I think there’s nothing nicer… than seeing people happy with the food that you prepare,” Rojas-Caro said.

A primary role of market managers is to process SNAP transactions, according to Jordan Roach, a market manager at the Central Square market. 

All of the area farmers markets offer SNAP benefits on produce, and many run match programs with local businesses to increase the SNAP dollars customers can spend. The Assembly Row Farmers Market is partnered with Capital One, and the Central Square Farmers Market is partnered with the Cambridge Community Foundation.  

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