Bensonhurst Greenmarket back on at 18th Avenue

Bensonhurst is going green!

The Bensonhurst Greenmarket will be open for the season starting Sunday, June 7 and will be open every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. all the way through November 22.

A program of GrowNYC – a non-profit organization that aims to improve New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs – the Greenmarket works to preserve local farmland while ensuring that people across all five boroughs have access to fresh, healthy food, grown right in the region.

“A central component of Greenmarket’s mission and operations is product integrity. Everything sold at market is 100 percent farmer grown, produced, caught, or foraged,” according to GrowNYC. “In addition to operating farmers markets, Greenmarket is working to improve the health of all New Yorkers with a suite of food access strategies aimed at getting the healthiest, freshest food into the hands that need it most.”

Farmers attending this year include Haywoods Fresh Beef – pork, chicken and eggs plus purchased milk, yogurt and butter from Columbia County, New York; Kernan Farms – vegetables from Cumberland County, New Jersey; Nature’s Way Farm – honey and candles from Chemung County, New York; and Williams Fruit Farm – orchard fruit from Ulster County, New York.

The market, located at 18^th Avenue between 81^st and 82^nd Streets, will feature free cooking demonstrations and family-friendly activities all season long.

Like the Bay Ridge Greenmarket, which takes place on Saturdays, the Bensonhurst Greenmarket was a brainchild of City Councilmember Vincent Gentile, who pushed for its establishment.