produce | Battery Park City News

holtonfarm_truck — Will Holton Farms close the gap for BPC residents in search of better produce?

The produce options in Battery Park City are growing. Mainstay Gristedes and nearby newcomer Whole Foods have seen the World Financial Center’s Greenmarket open this year, while delivery service FreshDirect has been heavily targeting our area in an attempt to steal some of Whole Foods’ thunder. We can now add to the mix Holton Farms, a “farm to lobby” service based on a CSA (community supported agriculture) model.

Weekly deliveries from the Farm Truck have begun in the neighborhood for members of the CSA program living in all three “green” buildings, The Visionaire, The Solaire, and the Verdesian.

Holton Farms is looking to expand the program in Battery Park City soon: residents of Gateway Plaza received notification that the Farm Truck could begin making deliveries next year. An informational session at Gateway is scheduled for Saturday, October 9 from 11am-1pm.

Holton Farms seeks to distinguish itself from traditional CSAs by offering a customizable arrangement; customers receive only the produce and groceries they want instead of simply receiving everything the farm produces.

The farm-to-table movement is definitely trendy and likely will prove popular in the neighborhood’s pricier buildings (not coincidentally, some of Holton’s first customers). Whether they are a hit with the rest of the neighborhood remains to be seen. Regardless, competition for our grocery dollar should prove beneficial to everyone!

What do you think? Will you sign up for the Farm Truck delivery if its available to you? Do you think we need more grocery and produce options in Battery Park City? Let us know in the comments.

Battery Park City Greenmarket Thursdays at 225 Liberty Street — Our Greenmarket is Here! Hooray!

Our neighborhood has just been served… with a side of swiss chard, organically pasteurized eggs with pies for dessert!

Battery Park City now has a Greenmarket to call its own.

After being Greenmarket connoisseurs without a country — Battery Park City’s Greenmarket is here to stay until November 24th.

Starting today and every Thursday from 8AM until 6PM, greenmarket vendors will be set up in the ring road right outside 225 Liberty Street at South End Avenue.

If this morning is any indication — a key piece of advice is to get to the stands before you head out to work. The fresh veggies, fruits and baked goods will certainly be snatched up by our business neighbors by lunchtime. Case in point: while perusing the stalls at 9:30am, some of the best looking produce had already been procured leaving many visibly empty spaces within the lush terrain of fresh produce. Also, while heading to the greenmarket — there were several people heading back to their apartments with bags of produce leaving in the opposite direction all before 9am.

We can’t blame them. The Greenmarket is very exciting for the southern portion of our neighborhood. Before today, the best excuse the South End part of the neighborhood had for fresh produce has been the fruit cart flanked at Albany Street and South End Avenue. The North End of the neighborhood has been blessed with easy access to the Tribeca Greenmarket as well as the Whole Foods. The location of Battery Park City’s greenmarket is smartly placed in the center of the neighborhood — easy enough for everyone to get to. Not to mention it’s also an excellent use of a ring road that seems hardly used post 9/11.

While speaking with the Greenmarket representatives, we asked if there was a possibility for the vendors to stay throughout the winter and brave blistery winds for fresh winter produce. They had informed us that as long as the Greenmarket is proven successful, an extension for the Greenmarket to stay year round is definitely a possibility. As far as the wind was concerned, the Greenmarket people claimed that this location is apparently not the windiest in the city. (Obviously the Greenmarket grasshopper has much to learn!)

The vendors who will be in our neighborhood every Thursday are:

Migliorelli Farm – Vegetables and fruit
Meredith’s Bakery -Bread and baked goods
Red Jacket Orchard – Fruit, juices and assorted bottled goods such as apple butter.
Binder Farm – Plants and flowers
MK Orchards – Orchids and hydrangeas
Valley Shepherd – Sheep, cow and goat cheese, pasta, butter, yogurt and gelato
Lavender by the Bay – Fresh lavender and assorted lavender products.
Beth’s Family Farm – Jams and preserves
NY Wine & Grape Association – NY state local wines
Holten Farms – Vegetables, fruit, maple syrup, honey, eggs, baked goods, and meat including, beef, turkey, pork, chicken and lamb.

Yum! Welcome Greenmarket! May you help all of us eat healthier meals.
Check out some of the photos we took from our first visit to the Battery Park City Greenmarket!