ORONO – Although piles of snow were hanging on in the corners of the Pine Street parking lot Saturday, the temperatures played at 40 degrees, making it a perfect day for a winter farmers market.

Almost a dozen vendors, selling maple syrup, beef, chicken, artisan cheeses, breads, fresh eggs, and homemade jams and jellies, were surrounded by inquisitive customers who were there not just for the wares, but to build a sense of community.

Faith Erhardt, shopping with her young son Noah, said, “The winter market is important partly because of the local, natural food, but also for the social aspect. We see the whole town here and get to know our neighbors.”

Although many towns in Maine now have thriving farmers markets, winter markets are rare, and most are indoors. At Orono, however, the monthly winter market is held outdoors in a parking lot just off the main street.

The weather has been kind to vendors and buyers, artisan cheese maker Caitlan Hunter of Appleton Creamery said Saturday.

“All through November we were wearing long underwear, wrapped in scarves and gloves,” she said. “Today is beautiful.”

The customers agreed. Children scampered in Nordic sweaters, strollers rolled by filled with the younger tots, and many shoppers didn’t even have a hat on. They often gathered in clusters, touching base and catching up on one another’s lives.

Paula Rougney of Bangor purchased fresh eggs and a rack of lamb Saturday. “Isn’t this great they do this in the winter?” she said. “I love coming out and seeing all the people. I like the community of it.”

Why does the winter market work so well in Orono? Technology and a good customer base, Hunter maintained. Hunter, who is also the market manager, said that at most farmers market sites the customers leave after Labor Day.

“Here, they come back after Labor Day,” she said. “Here, because of the University [of Maine] we have a technologically savvy customer base that reads their e-mails.”

The Orono Farmers Market has an extensive e-mail list that notifies customers, in a homey, neighborly way, when the market will be held, whom to expect at market and what the farmers will be bringing. It provides a way to pre-order specialty items and gives customers a sense of ownership in the market.

“I love the e-mail notifications,” Erhardt said. “It lets us find alternative supplies for local food until our own garden is ready.”

Calvin Beebe, 21, was leaving the market Saturday morning laden with bags of fresh food. “I come as often as I can,” he said. “The quality of the food here is much higher than in [conventional grocery stores]. It is very important to have this available.”

“It is so important to be able to support our local farmers,” Erhardt said.

The local food movement has gained so much profile that the New Oxford American Dictionary named “locavore” – someone who prefers locally produced food – its word of the year, and a 2005 Canadian public health study found that producing 58 common foods locally – such as beef, potatoes, onions and apples – rather than importing them, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 16,000 cars off the road.

Russ Libby, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, has long lobbied for Maine’s residents to commit to spending $10 a week on locally produced food. This would keep $100 million more circulating in the local economy, Libby maintains.

“The potential market for Maine foods, at just $10 a week per household, is $128 million for the six months from June through November,” Libby maintains. “That’s not counting food we eat at restaurants, or during the rest of the year, or food bought by visitors to the state.

“What would the results of that commitment be? First, we would guarantee a future for hundreds of Maine farms. Right now, we have about 600 farms with 5,000 acres in vegetable production targeted to in-state consumption. There are about 300 farms producing fresh berries for local use. Several hundred orchards produce apples, pears and other fruits, and more of their products would have to be directed to local use. We would need, at the least, to triple vegetable and berry production.”

Libby went on to say that “if we are serious about maintaining rural communities and open space in Maine, we have no other choice. Either the existing farms are supported by their neighbors, or they won’t be in business for much longer.”

At Orono, the crowds at the winter market – and the summer market – indicate a large demand for local food.

For the McBrine family of Bangor, the market helped them build a customer base and encouraged them to open a retail outlet on Union Street. Vine and Branch Farm Market will sell all-natural beef, pork, lamb, poultry, eggs and produce.

Even with the retail store, Joe McBrine said he still would come to the farmers market. “This is where we meet many people interested in all-natural meat and produce.”

“This is such a very strong market,” Jim Freyenhagen of Union said. Freyenhagen was selling the last of his 2007 maple syrup Saturday. “The customers are loyal, social and many.”

To subscribe to the Orono Farmers’ Market e-mail list, send an e-mail to oronomarketnews@prexar.com.

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