The Union Square Farmer’s Market in the heart of New York City is still going strong. Every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, neighboring farmers, fishers and producers from upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania or even Vermont offer their products to the Manhattan crowd.

Besides the cornucopia of pesticide-free vegetables, roots, fruits, flowers and small trees fit for city life, meat-related products abound: a Catskill Merino Sheep farm offers lamb’s legs as well as sheepskin and color-died skeins; an ostrich and emu farm sells giant eggs full or empty and diverse part of 97% fat-free red ostrich meat; a ranch from Pennsylvania offers angus & bison meat from grass-fed animals raised without antibiotics, hormones or steroids.

Various recycling programs are offered, such as clothing under the label Wearable Collections or the plastic bag recycling program for those who pledge to bring their own reusable plastic bag to shop at the market to help reduce plastic usage through the city.

The Community Compost program from the Lower East Side Ecology Center sells composting systems and  gather kitchen scraps from households in large garbage cans to compost, repackage and and re-sell as fertile soil once processed. Lavender, local beer and maple candy from Vermont are also available.

More expensive than smaller markets around the five boroughs or Philadelphia, but very eco-friendly for us city locals, still…what a blessing to live nearby…

By Emmanuelle Linard.

www.wearablecollections.org

www.lesecologycenter.org

www.unionsquaregreenmarket