By Leslie Duvall
Summer days filled with sunshine and sometimes rain make for fields and orchards filled with fine produce. Our area is so fortunate to have numerous ways for customers to find local foods to enjoy and share with family and friends.
Careful Customers
In the wake of COVID, most farmers markets are still asking that: 1. If you are sick, stay home; 2. Please maintain social distancing; 3. Wear a mask if you are unvaccinated.* 4. Keep in mind that you can contact your vendor and preorder items for faster pick-up. 5. Limit touching of products you do not intend to purchase. 6. Use credit cards or tokens (if available) when possible. *Some markets do insist on customers wearing masks, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated. Check the market’s website for current guidelines.
In the Market for a Market?
Here is a list of local markets, with their availability and hours of operation as of this writing. Please check the links for more information on hours and regulations.
The Fredericksburg Farmers Market, opens a new window at Hurkamp Park is open on Saturdays from 7:00 to 2:00, from April through October with special events listed on their site. You can pre-order from many vendors. Their other location,, opens a new window in front of Mary Washington Healthcare on Sam Perry Boulevard, is open on the second and fourth Fridays of each month, from 11:30 to 5:00.
The Long Sunday Market (Stafford) is a drive-through market that runs on Sundays from 9:00 to 12:00 through 11/21/21. Pre-order forms and a list of vendors are available on their website.
The Spotsylvania Farmers Market at the commuter lot on Route 3 and Gordon Road (12150 Gordon Road) is open on Saturdays from 8:00 until 1:00 through 12/18/21. It also hosts a market on Wednesday afternoons in front of the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center (4600 Spotsylvania Parkway), 2:00-6:00 through 9/8/21.
The King George Farmers Market at the King George Middle School, 8246 Dahlgren Road, is open on Saturdays from 8:00 until noon through 10/30/21.
Local on-site farm markets are also open.
In CRRL’s service area (Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland counties):
Braehead Farm, the only farm still operating in the City of Fredericksburg, is open daily from 9:00 to 6:00.
Cardinal Apiaries (Stafford County) does primarily online orders. There is a roadside stand where people can come to purchase honey, eggs, and goat milk soap. See the website for more details before you visit.
Lois’s Produce, in Leedstown (Westmoreland County). Produce available at the farm. Contact them in advance. You’ll be turning right at the antique tractor.
Further Afield
Garners Farm and Market, located in Richmond County offers curbside pick-up for customers on Tuesdays and Saturdays at the farm with pre-orders or daily at their roadside stand at 22645 Kings Highway, Warsaw, VA.
Messick’s Farm Market in Bealeton (Fauquier County) is open Monday through Saturday, from 7:00 to 7:00, and Sundays 9:00 to 7:00.
Miller Farms Market in Locust Grove (Orange County) is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 to 5:00, and on Saturdays from 8:00 to 5:00.
Mount Olympus Farm in Ruther Glen (Caroline County) is open Wednesday-Sunday, from 9:00 to 5:00, through September. Tentative October hours are Wednesday-Sunday, 10:00-5:00.
Snead’s Farm, opens a new window in Caroline County is open daily, from 9:00-6:00. Admission charge.
A Delicious Subscription
Community Supported Agriculture groups, or CSAs, have been gaining in popularity in the past decades. They provide pre-purchased, weekly boxes of farm produce to subscribers within their communities. By now, many CSAs have closed enrollment for the season, although Miller Farms in Locust Grove is still offering shares in its summer and fall CSAs. The Fredericksburg Area CSA Project also has applications for this season on its website. Snead’s Farm, Mount Olympus, and Miller Farms offer local CSA options as well.
These websites may also be helpful in your farm-to-table quest:
Fredericksburg, Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula U-Pick Farms
Virginia Grown (Virginia Department of Agriculture) – Lists farmers markets and CSAs by region
Below is a gathering of cookbooks that can give you marvelous ideas on what to do with your bounty of fresh farm products:
From kitchen gardens to farmers markets, 'tis the season!
The Fresh 20, the popular budget-friendly meal-planning service founded by working mother Melissa Lanz, is now a cookbook, offering families an all-natural and easy approach to mealtimes.
Mom always said, "Eat your fruits and veggies"...and that's still good advice! FRESH FROM THE FARMSTAND is jam-packed with 240 tasty recipes using the freshest produce from your backyard garden or nearby farmers' market...why not eat local when it's this easy?
Recipes include Lavender Lemonade, Grilled Prawns with Pumpkin Seed Salsa, Garlic Turkey with Green Peppercorn Gravy, Cress and Fennel Soup, Ginger-Berry Shortcake, and many more.
Is organic really worth it? Are eggs okay to eat? If so, which ones are best for you, and for the chicken—cage-free, free-range, or pasture-raised?
Preparing fresh, wholesome, sustainable vegetarian food doesn't need to be so difficult.
Farmers markets, groceries, and natural foods stores today offer a wealth of wholesome ingredients that even a decade ago were considered unfamiliar and exotic.
Myra Goodman knows salad. Founder with her husband Drew,of Earthbound Farm—the largest grower of organic produce in North America—she is also the author of FOOD TO LIVE BY and THE EARTHBOUND COOK, sumptuous cookbooks built on the idea of fresh, seasonal cooking.
