The Great Hall at Codman Square Health Center converted to an indoor shopping ground March 2 for the weekly Dorchester Winter Farmers Market. Every year since 2015, on Saturdays Jan. 27 through March 30, community building is a two-way street. Dorchester residents are offered access to healthy and affordable produce, while small businesses gain exposure and connect with them.
The Health Center, the Codman Square Neighborhood Council and BOLD Teens, a youth-led community advocacy organization in Dorchester, organized the market. On the steps leading up to the Hall’s entrance, organizers greeted visitors, handing out coupons for discounts on the groceries that lay ahead. The Farmers Market also accepts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and Healthy Incentives Program benefits, marking down the price of locally sourced fruits and vegetables which, for some, may otherwise be unaffordable. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2017 to 2019, an estimated 30.5% of Suffolk County residents were eligible for SNAP benefits.
The city of Boston’s Mayor’s Food Access Agenda, published in April 2021, named Dorchester the fifth-most food insecure neighborhood in Boston, with 18.1% of residents struggling to access or afford healthy food. The market’s food assistance can make its bright yellow baskets of produce dollars cheaper for residents than the produce sold at nearby grocery stores.
On the outskirts of the Hall, tables were arranged side to side with small business owners and employees sitting behind them, ready to demo their products or share a conversation with anyone who walked up.
Michelle Carter, the owner of Michelle Green Thumbz, hand-wrapped bouquets of fresh flowers at her table, which she sold alongside a variety of plant-based skincare products. Across the room, Chantelle “Cee” Cardona operated her business, Moss by Cee, selling sea moss soaps, smoothies and capsules and breaking down the health benefits for customers along the way. At the corner of the two was 11-year-old Semaj Johnson-Cedeno’s The Glam, a shop full of handmade trinkets and jewelry that she started with the help of her mother.
The Farmers Market will be open Saturdays 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through March 30.
