Eat Good, Eat Well

I recently stumblied upon “Grow. Cook. Eat.“, a blog by another resident of Cambridge, MA (howdy neighbor) and it got me thinking about eating local again.  I keep telling myself that I need to get out of the habit of buying crappy food at the supermarket, but the local Shaw’s is literally minutes from my apartment, and the temptation is usually just too great.

So I decided to find out how lazy I’m really being: how easy is it to go to do all of your shopping at farmer’s markets in Cambridge, MA?

First, the schedule:

This a chart of all the farmer’s markets that are within 2 miles of 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA, and their operating times.

LIGHTER COLORS = closer

DARKER COLORS = farther away

All distances were calculated using the “walking distance” option on google maps.

**Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see all the details of each market.

So Many Choices!

Wow – I truly had no idea that there were so many nearby options for shopping at farmer’s markets.  I figured that Cambridge, MA would have a decent selection since the population around here tend to be pretty liberal and open to doing things differently, but a different market each day within 2 miles walking distance?  That’s ridiculous!

More ridiculous is the fact that Massachusetts has over 200 registered farmers markets to choose from.

Unfortunately, this still doesn’t answer my central question: is it practical to do all of my shopping at farmer’s markets?  Hopefully in the coming weeks in months I can get myself to some of these places and review the types and quality of food they offer.  Until next time…

And here are the chart details:

Data was collected from the Federation of MassFarmers Markets.

Monday

Cambridge/ Central Square Farmers Market
Parking Lot #5, Bishop Allen Dr. & Norfolk Street
11:30AM-6:00PM | 0.6 mi.

Boston City Hall Farmers Market
19 Cambridge Street, Boston
11:00AM-6:00PM | 2.0 mi. (very short walk from Government Center Station, blue & green T lines)

Tuesday

Update: You might also consider the MIT Produce Market, which isn’t technically a Farmer’s Market, but is pretty darned close.

Cambridge/ Harvard University Farmers Market
Oxford and Kirkland Streets in Cambridge
12:30PM-6:00PM | 1.9 mi. (0.5 mi from Harvard Station red T line, many buses available)

Wednesday

Boston City Hall Farmers Market
19 Cambridge Street, Boston
11:00AM-6:00PM | 2.0 mi. (very short walk from Government Center Station, blue & green T lines)

Thursday

Cambridge/ Kendall Square Farmers Market
500 Kendall St, Cambridge
11:00AM-2:00PM | 1.0 mi.

Friday

Allston Farmers Market
N Harvard St & Western Ave
3:00PM-7:00PM | 2.0 mi.

Saturday

Somerville/Union Square Farmers Market
Union Square Plaza, Somerville
9:00AM-1:00PM | 1.6 mi.

Sunday

Cambridge/ Charles Square Farmers Market
Charles Hotel Courtyard, 1 Bennett St. Harvard Square
11:00AM-3:00PM | 1.8 mi.