In its 46th season, the bustling downtown market operates rain or shine with a broad menu of locally grown and crafted food and drink. Meet some of the makers.
Published May 20, 2025 at 2:05 p.m. | Updated May 20, 2025 at 5:58 p.m.
It’s easy to go to the farmers market when the sun is shining, temps are balmy and there’s no downtown construction to navigate. But Burlington Farmers Market vendors especially appreciate the customers who show up on Pine Street in less ideal conditions — such as the first two rainy Saturdays of this summer’s season — to fill their baskets with fresh veggies, meats, cheeses, and baked goods, and their mouths with a global menu of prepared foods.
To adapt a familiar tribute to the U.S. Postal Service, market shoppers deterred by neither roadwork nor rain nor heat nor gloom of downtown earn a fervent “Bless your heart!” from Ashton Harrewyn of Cha Cha Garna Tostada Kitchen.
Harrewyn and his wife, Morgan, are among almost 80 food and drink purveyors, some part time, who sell what they grow, raise, cook, ferment, brew, and distill at the Burlington summer market. The Harrewyns’ Belizean-inspired tostada stand is a newer addition to the 45-year-old market. In 2023, they joined the mix of seasoned and novice vendors at the busy market, which draws about 5,000 customers on the average summer Saturday and generated roughly $2.5 million last year, according to market director Georgie Rubens.
Rubens works with a steering committee of vendor representatives and one community member to run the market. Together, they recently established a separate nonprofit called the Burlington Farmers Market Foundation to raise funds for a possible future permanent market site; for programs to assist vendors, such as microloans; and to help cover potential federal funding cuts to food assistance programs. During the 2024 season, Vermonters used about $190,000 in Crop Cash and more than $195,000 in SNAP benefits to buy locally raised food at markets statewide, according to the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.
The market steering committee aims to support “a really diverse group of vendors who are catering to a diverse group of people,” said its president, Sarah Coon of Swanton’s Hudak Farm. “There are just not very many places where you get all of that humanity in one place.”
Here is a tasting-menu introduction to 10 of those vendors and, in their own words, the stories behind what they have to feed you, from spring radishes grown by market veteran Hank Bissell of Starksboro’s Lewis Creek Farm to award-winning Green Mountain Blue Cheese crafted by second-generation cheesemaker Kayleigh Boucher in Highgate Center.
Madcap Mushrooms
Who: Blake, 31, and Lindsey Goldberg, 32; vendors since 2025; North Ferrisburgh; Instagram @madcapmushrooms
What: Cultivated mushrooms
Blake: “We had a 400-square-foot tiny home that we converted into, like, the mushrooms’ home. We were just the afterthought. They were literally everywhere. Lindsey said, ‘You have to stop. We’re going to turn into mushrooms.'”
Lindsey: “A big part of our mission is educating customers on mushrooms and how to cook them. People are really interested in mushrooms; they’re kind of having a revolution right now.”
Starbird Fish
Who: Tony Naples, 44; vendor since 2012; Burlington; starbirdfish.com
What: Seafood from southeast Alaska fished by a Vermonter
“People ask me if I’m fishing in the lake, and when I say, ‘No, the dude with the wild Alaskan booth does not do that,’ they say, ‘Well, why don’t you?’
“The thing that I bring to market and bring to Vermont is the direct line to not only supporting me and my family but the sustainable fisheries that I take part in and the communities that I live with and fish with in Alaska.”
Talya’s Treats
Who: Talya Knopf, 23; vendor since 2025; Burlington; talyastreats.com
What: Gluten- and dairy-free baked goods with some vegan and refined sugar-free options
“Farmers markets are huge because it’s so hard to market yourself and get your name out there. I’m hoping to create this name for myself so that when I do have the opportunity to have a store one day, I’m the gluten-free bakery in Burlington.
“You can find gluten-free chocolate chip cookies or gluten-free banana bread mix in the store, but you can’t find an Earl Grey-apricot scone or a tahini brownie or scallion pancake breakfast burrito. Gluten- and dairy-free things don’t have to be boring.”
Hudak Farm
Who: Sarah Coon, 35, and Alexei Hudak, 38, with his parents, Marie Frey, 68, and Richard Hudak, 74; vendors in the early 1980s who rejoined in 2015; Swanton; hudakfarm.com
What: Produce, eggs, flowers, and plants
Sarah: “My in-laws did attend the farmers market back in the early ’80s but hadn’t done it since. I think it was just a matter of too many irons in the fire. We were actually recruited when a bunch of other farms left and there was a need for produce, like we’re dealing with now.
“Almost all of our sales are out of our farmstand, and we really wanted to expand our reach a little bit to Chittenden County. We’re 30 minutes up the road, really not that far.”
Bee Happy Vermont
Who: Pedro Salas, 68; vendor since 2005; Starksboro; beehappyvermont.com
What: Honey, honey-sweetened treats, honey lemonade, beeswax candles
“I am very sorry that we cannot be in the main part of Burlington. It was cleaner; here we have a lot of dust. Our customers also changed a little bit. In the other place, I used to get a lot of tourists. They come, but not as many.
“I love the bees and nature, and I love the younger customers, especially the kids who come for honey lemonade. Those are my two big reasons why I didn’t retire yet.”
Green Mountain Blue Cheese/Boucher Family Farm
Who: Kayleigh Boucher, 28, with Dawn Morin-Boucher, 60, and Dan Boucher, 62, vendors from 1999 to 2019 who rejoined in 2024; Highgate Center; greenmountainbluecheese.weebly.com
What: Blue cheeses
Kayleigh: “My uncle and aunt started this business making blue cheese to try to diversify the dairy farm. Dawn is completely self-taught, and it took her a couple of years to develop her recipes until she was happy with them. They started going to market as soon as they had cheese to sell. They stopped making cheese during COVID, and everyone was telling me to help them make cheese again.
“I grew up visiting the farm a lot in the summers. I remember when I was 7 or 8 and I would wake up at 4:30 in the morning to go help Uncle Dan milk the cows. ‘Help’ is in quotation marks. We wouldn’t even speak. He would just work, and I would just sit there and watch, but I felt included.
“I wanted the community that comes with the market, to become friends with other small business owners.”
Cha Cha Garna Tostada Kitchen
Who: Morgan, 28, and Ashton Harrewyn, 42; vendors since 2023; Williston; chachagarna.com
What: Belizean-inspired tostadas and bowls
Morgan: “I was born and raised in Belize. In Belize, the word for tostada that is most commonly used is garnacha. We thought, Who the heck is gonna know what that even is? But at the end of the day, it’s fun to us. I had one lady last year who was like, ‘OMG, is that cha cha garna like garnacha backwards?’ and that was enough for me.”
Lewis Creek Farm
Who: Hank Bissell, 71; vendor since 1981; Starksboro; lewiscreekfarm.com
What: Vegetables, eggs, pickles
“We’ve been at the market since the dawn of time. It’s nice to see your customers and have a heavy influx of people all at once. It’s an efficient way to do your business. Farming, in and of itself, is not a terribly profitable business. At market, you’re getting the whole retail price.
“What is defined as ‘agricultural’ has changed over the years. Early on, it was about raw product, but as time went on, there was everything from jams to whiskey. People with cattle found that they could make more money selling burgers than selling steaks at the market.”
Tibetan Cuisine
Who: Kalsang and Tseten Mentsang, in their fifties; vendors since 2005; South Burlington; Instagram @tibetancuisinevt
What: Momos, curries with rice, mango lassi
Kalsang: “I was actually born to Tibetan refugees in Nepal, and I grew up in India. What we eat is from India, Nepal, and Tibet all mixed up. When I started selling my food, it was only me who had a momo stand. Burlington didn’t have any restaurants [that sold them].
“It’s like therapy for me because 1) I like to cook; 2) I provide homemade food with a reasonable price. Many customers are senior citizens or students, some families with kids. It brings me happiness because I’m helping them, and they support my family, too. I get up at 4:30 every Saturday. It’s a lot of work, but I feel satisfaction.”
Pigasus Meats
Who: Phelan, 35, and Kelsey O’Connor, 37; vendors since 2014; South Hero; pigasusmeats.com
What: Pork and breakfast sandwiches
Phelan: “Early on, we had someone come and get a sandwich for themselves, and then they came back for a second. They’re like, ‘It’s such a good sandwich I wanted to share it with my dog.’
“Once or twice a year, someone says, ‘So it’s like a McDonald’s McMuffin?’ And we say, ‘Yes, they both have egg and sausage, but it’s a pasture-raised egg and a pasture-raised pork patty. They’re managed in completely different systems, and that’s why it’s $9.50.”
Interviews were edited for clarity and length.
Market Day
Beyond the Saturday market in Burlington, Vermont is a farmers market lover’s paradise. An April 2025 Local Food Survey conducted by the research arm of food and beverage consultancy Trace One affirmed that the state leads the nation in farmers markets per capita. Chittenden County alone boasts a summer market for almost every day of the week — with Monday filled in by Bristol, not so far away. You know what they say: A market a day… For a full list of Vermont farmers markets, visit nofavt.org.
Sunday
Winooski Farmers Market 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. downtownwinooski.org
Westford Farmers Market 3 to 6 p.m. starting June 1 Facebook @westfordfarmersmarketvt
Monday
Bristol Farmers Market 3 to 7 p.m. starting June 2 discoverbristolvt.com
Tuesday
Old North End Farmers Market, Burlington 3 to 6:30 p.m. starting June 3 onefarmersmarket.com
Milton Farmers Market 4 to 8 p.m. starting June 17 miltonfamilycenter.org
Wednesday
Essex Farmers Market 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. starting June 4 essexvt.gov
Thursday
Jericho Farmers Market 3 to 6:30 p.m. starting May 22 jerichofarmersmarket.com
Friday
Richmond Farmers Market 3 to 6:30 p.m. starting May 30 richmondfarmersmarketvt.org
Saturday
Shelburne Farmers Market 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. sbpavt.org
