by Denise Wright
When people think of the word desert, they might not think of New Lebanon. In reality, the town has been in the heart of a food desert since the local market closed in 2009, and the closest market was 20 minutes away. The New Lebanon Farmers Market (newlebanonfarmersmarket.com) is an oasis for Rensselaer County residents looking for a solution. According to the USDA, many parts of the country have a scarcity of foods largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers. In New York state alone, there are 32 food deserts in 62 counties that affect 656,000 citizens (Seserman & Whalen 2011).
New Lebanon resident and freelance software engineer Josh Young and his sister Eleanor were raised in Madison, Wisconsin, visiting farmers markets. He signed on to be the director of the Farmers Market in hopes of making our food system better. After the pandemic hit, many people had safety worries, and Young and his sister saw a need to expand access to local foods to assist residents and local farmers. Young developed a virtual market in August 2020 where customers could order products online and then have them delivered, or people could pick them up at 528 Route 20. It has moved to a year-round indoor market that is an expansion from the Sunday-only outdoor Farmers Market. The indoor market is open Wednesday through Saturday, from noon to 6 pm. They offer delivery to anywhere in the towns of New Lebanon and Stephentown and much of East Nassau and Berlin, and it’s free for orders of $80 or more.
Presently the market has 50 vendors/farmers from eastern New York and western Massachusetts and serves approximately 150 customers per week, and seems to be growing. They are now offering fresh produce and more perishable items like meat and dairy. The store also accepts SNAP benefits and has a market match program.
One of the vendors, Alison and Keegan Basdekis from Shaker Creek Farm in Stephentown, mentioned that “there is a healthy emergence of young farmers in the region and a growing excitement for locally produced food.” They have been vending at the outdoor market since 2015, and being a part of the market has given their business more visibility in the community, and most weeks it nearly doubles their New Lebanon outdoor sales. They feel lucky to have this in the community where they can be a part of it both as producers and shoppers.
Consumers like Susan Wrba enjoyed using the virtual market as a safe and convenient way to shop while supporting local farms but also enjoyed the community of folks coming together in support of one another. “I am always excited to receive Josh’s emails highlighting the newest seasonal goodies.” East Nassau resident Lydia Davis agrees, “His emails describing the week’s offerings are gems. We’re so lucky to have this, it’s an asset to the community!”
Josh Young and his family are appreciated by many individuals with their upbeat attitude and responsiveness to requests and feedback. Volunteer Erminia Rasmussen started working at the market because she believes in the Youngs’ idea of the Farmers Market. One New Lebanon resident visiting the market commented that she admired the Youngs’ concept and vision, which was one reason she started to use the market. Wrba stated that “The greatest strengths of the market come back to Josh, Eleanor, and their family and the growing team—they work tirelessly to make the Market a place where people can find the best of all local goods in the area.”