Photos & Words by Caelan Chevrier for The Westport Local Press. 

The first hot and humid day of July brought hundreds of community members down to Westport Farmers’ Market. Shoppers could purchase produce, meats, loaves of bread, dairy products, and beverages, from over 50 local vendors. Due to the holiday weekend, Thursday’s turnout was even larger than normal. Every tent and truck attracted a line of enthusiastic visitors. Accompanied by a live acoustic set by a local musician, it seemed that Westport Farmers’ Market is the place to be on early Thursday mornings this summer. 

Mae Farrell, who runs the Get Growing program for the market said that her favorite part is seeing all the shoppers. “It is such a great community of people,” she said. “You get your regulars and not just people from Westport, but people from all over the place traveling down here.” 

Mackenzie Brandt, who works for the Riverbank Farm in Roxbury, CT, understands the importance of buying locally. She likes the market because she knows the food is high quality. “In some markets, they are not always organic, or they are not using the most sustainable practices. I think that local food is a lot more important than people give it credit for, a lot of the lettuce that we sell was just picked yesterday. Buying locally is healthier for you, it helps the environment, and community, you never know what the labor practices are with other larger companies.” 

Westport Farmers’ Market will be open Thursdays 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM until November 11th this season.