Shoppers enjoy Sea Isle's Farmers Market at Excursion Park Tuesday morning.
By Maddy Vitale
Ellen Staerk held up two shiny, hefty and hearty looking tomatoes and said, “I’ll take these.”
But Staerk, of Abbington, P.a., who vacations in Sea Isle through the summer, was far from done shopping for scrumptious fruits and vegetables.
She was on her Tuesday morning stroll with her pooch through Sea Isle’s Farmers Market at Excursion Park, which opened last month.
Ellen Staerk, of Abbington, P.a., buys tomatoes from Shannon Ferguson of Visalli Farms.
From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. throughout the summer, vacationers and locals get to peruse the best that the Garden State has to offer at roadside stand prices, from local farmers for produce, honeys, peanut butters, a rainbow of brightly hued flowers, and plenty of other goodies.
“Oh, I almost forgot blueberries,” Staerk said, turning around to head back to vendor Visalli Farms, which is based in Monroeville.
When asked if she was planning on making a pie, Staerk said, “No. They are just great for snacking. Everything is so fresh here.”
The market is not only popular with the shoppers, but vendors say it is a great market for them to showcase their farm fresh products.
“We have been real busy today,” said Shannon Ferguson, of Visalli Farms.
Jeremy and Julie Bell, of Pennsylvania, sample peanut butters from Jesse Mangum's Nutty Novelties table.
Jesse Mangum, of Nutty Novelties, which is based in P.a., said he loves the farmers market because customers get a chance to try a variety of peanut butter spreads.
Julie and Jeremy Bell, of P.a., were pleased to do some taste tests.
“We love peanut butter and we have four kids who love peanut butter,” Julie Bell said. “And it is good for them.”
While many shoppers picked up fruits, veggies and spreads, Mary Pfau, of Annapolis, M.d. and Sea Isle, had her eye on an assortment of flowers at a table featuring flowers from Muth Farms.
“I come every summer for these,” Pfau said of the flowers from the Williamstown-based farm. “They have the best flowers.”
Mary Pfau of Annapolis, M.d. and Sea Isle, loves the flowers from Muth Farms.
“I have a vase in my hall I will fill with these flowers,” she noted with a wide smile and a hand full of flowers.
Mary Ellen Muth said there was a reason for her customer’s smile.
“There is a study from Rutgers that says people have a genuine smile when they receive flowers,” Muth said, as she clipped the ends off the stems and explained the variety of flowers she sells. “Sunflowers are really popular.”
Families meandered the market and made many stops along the way.
Ripe fruits fill the vendor tables at the farmers market every Tuesday.
Before Natalie Martucci, of P.a., could take her daughter Noelle, 4, and niece Juliana Tolomeo, 4, in search of great produce, they had to make a detour to Sand Bar, a Rio Grande company that features items to make sand art.
The girls had fun playing with the brightly-colored sands.
Sand Bar vendor Darlene Rosenberg said the girls, along with a lot of other children, stopped at the table to enjoy the bright sands.
“We come to Sea Isle every year for the week and we always come to the farmers market,” Martucci said. “We usually get all of our fruit and vegetables here.”
From left, cousins Noelle Smalarz and Juliana Tolomeo and another shopper, Ava Prestileo, vacationing in Sea Isle, have fun playing with the colorful sands at the vendor's table Sandbar.
For Jackie Prestileo and daughter Ava, who were visiting family in Sea Isle, the farmers market means one thing.
Prestileo added with a smile, “It saves us a trip to the grocery store and we have a great time.”
The Sea Isle Farmers Market is sponsored by the Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization.
Vendors say the Sea Isle Farmers Market is always a good one to showcase their fresh produce.
After a stroll through the farmers market people lined up to purchase fresh lemonade.
