There need to be six stars here…read more Farm Direct Co-op believes in providing people on the north shore with healthy and local food. Truly farm to my table. Folks, they have a coffee share, a pasta share, a meat share, a mushroom share - goes on and on. The fruit is amazing! Service is exceptional. If you need it they get it for you. The nicest humans you may ever meet. Ambiance is smart and ethical business people meet hippies. The best food and the best people. I cannot recommend the team enough - A++ Caveat -- its not inexpensive. Good food that pays local producers fair prices is not inexpensive.

After a several month stint on the FDC waiting list, I became a member this spring and the whole…read moreexperience has been awesome. In case you are not familiar with the co-op thing, members pay a certain amount of money to join the co-op, and in turn, get a bounty of fresh, locally-grown, mostly organic food items each week. It cost me about $600 for the season, and that includes weekly baskets of fruit, vegetables, cheese, and herbs from mid-June to mid-October. It also includes one fall basket and one winter basket. The quality of the food I've received thus far has been amazing. Everything is super fresh and super delicious. We've had everything from bok choy and salad turnips to bell peppers and blueberries, and it's all been outstanding. Plus the cheese! Oh, the cheese. It's all been SO good. There's been goat cheese, gouda, raw cheddar, monterey jack - the list goes on. We've also gotten a couple different types of vinegar from the Herb Farmacy too. Every week brings with it a new surprise. The best thing about being a part of this CSA (other than supporting local farms, the benefits for the environment, the quality, etc) is that the different types of items have forced me to go beyond my comfort zone and try new ingredients. I never would have bought Swiss Chard, for example, at the grocery store, but I've discovered how good it is since getting it through my share. So it's opening up all sorts of new culinary worlds for me. I know there's a pretty serious wait list for next season (at last count, I think they said there were 140 names on it), but if you are looking for a CSA in or around the North Shore (they have pick up locations in Melrose, Salem, and Marblehead every Thursday), check it out!

I think this is the best Farmers Market around. It is Saturdays until 1 in summer and fall…read more I can come away with ingredients for meals, something to eat right away or shortcut prepped meals. They even have protein balls in many flavors for a quick healthy snack. In addition there are lovely breads, jellies and pastries, coffees and juices. I've got gifts both for others and myself there. There is always a community group and some music to add to the atmosphere. Parking can be tough during the first hour or so. There's is plenty of you don't mind a little walk I recommend arriving early, taking a walk around Lake Quannapowitt (3 mi), then grabbing some items at the market.

Amazing place! Great vendors. Good variety. Lots of small business to support. Highly recommendread more

I'd place this market in at least top five of Eastern MA markets. And I'm a farmers market…read moreconnoisseur so this is a legit ranking. It's huge by farmer's market standards and has everything you could think of. Aside from the standard selection of veggies and fruits there's flowers, cheese, yogurt, granola, honey, baked goods, sausage, wine, jams, pasta, pasta sauce, pickles, meat, fish, and spice blends. Plus there were three vendors selling ready made food while I was there. If I lived nearby I would be spending every week and a lot of money here. My favorite booth was the Cape Ann Backyard Growers, which is a group of backyard farmers selling their produce. One of the backyard growers was a 10-year old girl who was a better salesperson then most adults. She offered me some rose tea sweetened with honey and told me about all of their products. I ended up buying some dried bayberry leaves (tastes like bay leaves) from her backyard for $1. I swung by Trupiano's sausages because of Jenna A's review and noticed that every minute someone came and bought sausages. Quite a following. Check out Maitland Mountain Farm's pickles- the giardinera (pickled veggies) are amazing. And the flowers she grows are the most beautiful flowers I have seen at a farmer's market. Plus, she sells little boxes of edible flowers. I forget the name of the vendor I got English Muffin bread from but it's very good. If you're a tourist, still check it out like I did. Parking is free at that time and the park is beautiful.

The Cape Ann Farmers Market aims to promote local agriculture and small scale production, help…read moreboost the Cape Ann economy, and forge community ties to propel Cape Ann into a more sustainable future. Okay, sure. Honestly, that's not all that important to me. I come here for two reasons: bread and sausage. My family loves Trupiano's sausage. It was once sold in some local store, but now, you can only get it here at the farmers market or from Trupiano himself. My parents swear that this is the best sausage EVER, so keep that in mind. I, personally, love the baked goods available here. My favorite is Swissbäkers, a bakery out of Reading. You just can't go wrong here. Try the chocolate croissants or the Choco Weggli. But besides the meat and baked goods (and fruits, veggies, fish, homemade jam, honey, etc), they have plenty of other stuff. Activities for kids, musicians, craft booths -- last year, we bought some bag clips from preteen girls who were raising money for cancer. Sweet, right? This year, it'll be open until October 7th. The hours are 3 - 6:30pm every Thursday. If you're a local, definitely check it out. I try to go every week.

Imaginative decor. The food is great and reasonably priced. Chef Andrew Varela is hard at work in…read morethe kitchen turning out amazing dishes made from locally sourced food. The not - wedge salad is beautifully presented with hot house tomatoes, thick cut bacon and blue cheese that is otherworldly. Mushroom soup has layers of flavor. They now have a seasonal liquor license but in the meantime try their Jun Kombucha. Yum. Got there.

Love everything about Maitland Mountain Farm! They have a huge amount of amazing plants for sale…read moreplus varieties you normally can't find anywhere else. It's a hidden gem on the North Shore. Nasturtium? Dinosaur kale? Yes please!! I was amazed by their high quality succulents too. Maitland Mountain Farm is well known for their *amazing* pickles, but they have so much more. So excited to grow their seedlings in my garden this season!

Really nice farmer's market, with a decent selection, and Marblehead prices, so bring your wallet…read more Great Harvest Bread is gone, but A&J King of Salem has replaced it, and they're just plain better. Cheese from West River is great, as is the produce and baked goods from Cider Hill Farm. I can't wait for June. Come early, and be prepared to park far away. It's crowded.

Marblehead Farmer's Market isn't the largest around, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in…read morequality. For one thing, it's one of the few farmer's markets open on Saturdays, which is great for my schedule. On the other hand it means that it's real busy. We've never not been able to get a parking spot at the Marblehead Veteran's Middle School where it's held, but we've had to do the "wait and stalk the lady with the bags" thing. Oh and get there early, but I guess that applies to all farmer's markets; the best stuff goes quick. Most of the vendors are regulars but there are always new people coming and going. Our favorites include the two stalls selling cheese, one from Vermont selling cow and sheep cheese and the other from Mass. selling goat cheese. I forget the name of the goat cheese farm right now, but the lady who makes and sells it is so nice and remembers us from year to year. Great Harvest Bakery (which is located in Beverly) also comes every week with some great bread. There's at least four fruit and vegetable stands, an organic beef stand, an organic pork stand (mmm, great bacon and chops); a Vietnamese farm stand,and more. They also have people selling crafts and usually some kind of entertainment for the kids. It's a real lively family-friendly hootenany. It's not just food shopping; it's a fun excursion. Oh and let's not forget that the fresh fruit and vegetables are fantastic! The market is open Saturdays, June to October, 9 am to noon.

I do my food shopping here every week and am never disappointed. The produce and products are…read morealways fresh and there's plenty of options. Upstairs decor area is super cute too. Shout out to victor behind the meat counter! Always makes my day to see his smiling face.

I had an unpleasant experience here. I came in looking for Anadama bread which I had bought at…read moretheir location in Wenham. I didn't see any so I asked the young woman near the bread section. She couldn't speak English and just pointed at the bread and began giggling, as did the other worker next to her. I asked again and asked if there was anybody that spoke English. She called over a guy who apparently didn't speak English either. I asked him and he did the same - pointed at the bread, while the two girls giggled. There was no Anadama bread and apparently no English. This is poor customer service. If you're going to hire workers who can't speak English, they shouldn't be dealing with customers. It's very frustrating trying to communicate with people that can't understand and act disrespectfully to customers. I emailed the business to express my disappointment and frustration with my experience but have heard nothing back which is a further disappointment. Update: After another attempt at contacting them, this time via FACEBOOK, I heard back immediately and was taken seriously and assured it would be dealt with. She explained that those workers are bakers and aren't required to speak fluent English but will still talk with them about what happened.

Had a lovely fall weekend experience here recently. We went on one of their Sundays with live music…read moreand wood fired pizza. We started off taking a stroll around the property, the trails are a little confusing but it's pretty small so you're not likely to get that lost. It was beautiful and peaceful. We then checked out the farm store which is on the small side but has lots of local goods. The star of the show was definitely the wood fired pizza - we got the seasonal one which had some garlicky kale. It was delicious, the crust was awesome and it's so nice that it is all made from Appleton farms ingredients. The live music was also a fun touch (but REALLY loud if you were close). Was happy to spend an afternoon here!

This was a lovely afternoon trip in the spring. Lots of ambling trails throughout the farm to…read moreexplore. The creamery is home to the farm store during the pandemic, and it is quite small/1 family allowed in at a time. I did get a lemon cream bun and chocolate chip cookie, and there were a number of other pastries/little items to pick up in the creamery. You can also place an order online in advance and pick it up--their online store is quite expansive! Would be great to come back to explore more trails, have a picnic, roam around.

This is my favorite local farm stand…read more I love the variety of seasonal produce, delectable home baked goods and local honey. They have local eggs, dairy and a fine selection of Stonewall Kitchen jams. Specially olive oils, and other various local products are offered. I wish they were open year round.

service here was so great -- very friendly & prompt. their selection isn't huge but what they do…read morehave looks good and fresh and yummy.