NORTHFIELD — Leave it to a bunch of farmers to turn an empty armory into a bustling market.
That’s precisely what happened at Norwich University in Northfield on Sunday as the town’s first-ever indoor farmers’ market got off to a better-than-expected start in Plumley Armory.
Business was brisk, weather wasn’t a factor (and wouldn’t have been, even if Mother Nature hadn’t delivered a balmy November day) and the general consensus among those who participated — shoppers and vendors alike — was a great, big green thumbs up.
“Awesome! absolutely awesome,” Northfield resident Judy Knapp said, after swinging by the armory and snapping up a dozen fresh eggs, a wood-fired pizza, a bag of spinach and some carrots before heading for home to harvest what was left in her own garden.
“It’s great,” she said. “It gives us some fresh produce and we know where it came from.”
The market was open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by noon some vendors were already wondering whether one Sunday a month was enough. Before the market closed many agreed that it wasn’t, and Verne Du Clos of Gizmo’s Pickled Plus in Braintree said Crystal Peterson of New Roots Farm in Randolph was already looking into adding a second Sunday to the schedule.
“I think there’s every possibility it will happen more than once a month,” said Du Clos. “Stay tuned.”
Though off-season farmers’ markets aren’t a novel concept, the idea is new to Northfield, where Du Clos helped found the outdoor market that closed for the season last month.
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