SARASOTA, FLORIDA, September 11th, 2015 – Convenient availability of local and organic foods enhancing and improving the quality of life is one of the perks of living in Manatee and Sarasota, courtesy of several farmers’ markets in the two counties.
In Sarasota, such convenience extends anew this October to the communities around Bee Ridge and Ridge Wood Heights, which incidentally constitute one potent hunting ground in a search for Sarasota homes for sale. After a summer break, the Central Sarasota Farmer’s Market is reopening this October 3 to again serve the neighborhoods around this locality, especially those at nearby South Pointe Woods, Town & County Estates, Hymount and Flora Villa where realtors typically take clients looking for affordably priced Sarasota homes for sale.
Opened in January 2014, this relatively new market, which encourages residents to buy local and thus contribute to the community’s economy, has found a home at the parking grounds of the Sarasota County Technical Institute in the northwestern corner of Beneva and Proctor Roads. The Central Sarasota Farmer’s Market operates every Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and is host to some 20 vendors, primarily composed of farm produce growers and not just resellers.
One of the prime movers of this farmer’s market is the family-owned Brown’s Grove, has been operating from Bee Ridge since 1915. An advocate of organic farming, the Brown farm is a local source not only of tree-ripened citrus. It also supplies vine-ripened tomatoes, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and other farm produce grown via all-natural environmental-friendly and sustainable methods followed by other farm market vendors.
Besides Brown Grove, several other local farms, such as Greens on the Gro, My Mothers Garden, Honeyside Farms, and Morning Sun, are among those selling to consumers directly through the various farmers’ markets in Sarasota and Manatee. One of their major outlets, aside from that in Central Sarasota, is the downtown Sarasota Farmer’s Market. It has been operating since 1979 at Lemon/State Streets at the vicinity of Pineapple Park and has grown to be one of the tourist attractions in the city center. This farmer’s market is also held each Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Another great destination for foodies seeking fresh farm produce is the Bradenton Farmer’s Market which, like its kin in Central Sarasota, is also resuming this first Saturday of October and will be open at same days from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. till the last week of May. The Bradenton market is located at the city’s tree-lined Old Main Street, a three-block commercial district running north from Manatee Avenue and winding up at the 1.5-mile Bradenton Riverwalk Park just off the Manatee River.
The Bradenton Farmer’s Market boasts of over thirty-five vendors offering locally-grown vegetables, fruits, plants, flowers, organic products, fresh seafood and prepared foods. The works of local craftspeople and artists are also on sale here.
From November to April, fresh farm produce goes beachside at the outdoor market on Bradenton Beach held Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in its historic Bridge Street.
This 2015 season, its inaugural opening will be on November 15, an event also featuring local arts and craft which could very well be an interesting side trip for those in search of Sarasota or Bradenton homes for sale.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA, October 7, 2019 – Property values of communities in the Sarasota-Manatee region now face lesser threat from neighborhood eyesores brought about by abandoned, foreclosed homes. Known in the real estate trade as zombie foreclosures, these properties have shrunk significantly in the region. According to an August report of ATTOM Data Solutions, abandoned […] more>>