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Is there a farmers’ market in Port Crane?

by kimberly•

Blog Post

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re either a regular in Port Crane, New York, or you’ve stumbled across a question that’s been bouncing around the small town’s casual circles for years: Is there a farmers’ market in Port Crane? As someone who’s spent the last three years as a local produce supplier here—working out of a small, sunlit cooler behind a weathered red barn on the edge of town—I can tell you the answer isn’t a simple yes or no. It’s a story that ties together what makes Port Crane unique: tight-knit community, a little DIY spirit, and a lot of people who’d rather show up than wait for someone else to build something. Port Crane

I moved to Port Crane in 2021, after 10 years working at a larger co-op in Binghamton. I fell in love with the place’s quiet: the way the Susquehanna River hums past the backroads, the small Main Street lined with a hardware store, a coffee shop with a porch swing, and a handful of empty storefronts that still feel like they’re waiting for someone to take a chance. When I started selling fresh tomatoes, apples, and peaches from my 12-acre family farm just outside the village, I assumed there was a farmers’ market already up and running. I’d sold at three different markets in neighboring towns, so I thought I knew the drill: a weekly spot, a table, a shared sign, the chance to connect directly with people who care about where their food comes from.

My first mistake was asking at the local coffee shop. The barista laughed and said, “Oh, we tried that a few years back. Fizzled out.” Digging a little deeper, I learned that Port Crane had a small market in the early 2010s, run by a group of volunteers out of the municipal parking lot. It worked for a couple of years, drawing maybe 10 vendors and 50 customers on a good weekend. But when the lead organizer moved out of state, the group couldn’t find a replacement, and without the coordination to secure a permanent spot or promote it, the market petered out. For the next decade, Port Crane didn’t have a regular, weekly farmers’ market. Vendors like me either drove 15 minutes to the market in Johnson City, 20 to Binghamton, or relied on word-of-mouth sales out of our farms or a few local restaurants.

But here’s the thing about Port Crane: when there’s a gap, the community figures out a way to fill it. Two years ago, a group of us—myself, a baker who makes sourdough out of her home kitchen, a beekeeper who’s selling honey from hives behind the elementary school, and a handful of vegetable growers—started a loose, informal pop-up market. We didn’t have a permit at first, and we didn’t have a big budget for flyers. We just picked a spot: the grassy lot next to the Port Crane Fire Hall, which is central enough that most people can walk or drive there in 10 minutes. We set up the first Saturday in June 2022, just as the first of my heirloom tomatoes were ripening. I brought 20 flats of tomatoes, a bushel of sweet corn, and a crate of cucumbers. I expected maybe 20 people to show up. By noon, we had a line wrapped around the fire hydrant. An older couple told us they’d been driving to Johnson City every Saturday for 7 years, but they were happy we’d started something close to home. A mom with two little kids said she’d been looking for a place to buy locally grown berries without having to drive all the way into Binghamton.

That first season, we didn’t call ourselves anything formal. We just showed up, brought our goods, and talked to whoever stopped by. We learned fast that Port Crane’s market isn’t like the big ones in the city, where vendors are competing for space or selling to crowds that don’t stick around long. Our customers are mostly people who live here, who’ve known each other for generations, who ask not just what we’re selling but how the corn was growing this year, if my kid’s soccer team made it to the playoffs, when the next cold snap is coming. We don’t have set rules for vendors, either. If you have something local—jams, eggs, flowers, meat, whatever—you can set up a table, no fees, no complicated applications. We just ask that you show up reliably, because word spreads fast if a vendor doesn’t keep their commitment.

By the end of that first season, we had a regular group of 8 vendors, and we were drawing an average of 80 customers each Saturday. The village clerk helped us get a temporary event permit for the weekends, so we didn’t have to worry about being told to pack up. Last year, in 2023, we took it a step further: we started a small Facebook page, just for the market, so people could know what was coming each Saturday, and we put up a few signs around Main Street and the local elementary school. We even added a kids’ corner one month, where a local artist did face painting for free, and the fire department brought a truck over so the little ones could climb in. That season, we had 12 vendors, and on the peak Saturday when the peaches were perfect, we had more than 150 people show up.

Now, to answer the original question again: Is there a farmers’ market in Port Crane? The short answer is, yes—an informal, community-led market that runs every Saturday from June through October, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the fire hall lot. It’s not the big, polished market you’ll find in larger towns. We don’t have air conditioning, we don’t have a stage for live music, and we don’t sell every single thing you could want for a week of meals. But it’s ours. And as a supplier who’s watched it grow, I can tell you that it’s filling a gap that Port Crane didn’t even know it needed—until we started showing up every Saturday, bringing our best produce, and talking to the people who buy it.

I’ll be honest, there are still challenges. Last year, a few of our regular vendors had family emergencies and couldn’t make it, and we had to scramble to find replacements at the last minute. We don’t have a lot of marketing budget, so word of mouth is our biggest tool. And in the off-season, when the market takes a break, a lot of us rely on selling to local restaurants or doing pre-orders for customers who want fresh produce through the winter. But that’s the nature of small-town supply chains, right? You adapt. You build relationships. You don’t wait for someone to fix the problem—you fix it yourself.

For me, being a supplier in Port Crane isn’t just about selling tomatoes or corn. It’s about being part of the community. Last summer, when a heat wave hit and my tomatoes were at risk of wilting, a group of customers showed up at the farm with hoses to water the rows. When the baker’s oven broke last month, I lent her a space in my barn to bake her sourdough for the market. That’s the kind of thing that doesn’t happen at big, corporate farmers’ markets, where vendors are strangers to the people who buy their food. Here, it’s personal.

Now, if you’re someone who reads this and thinks, “I’d like to sell my local goods at that market,” or if you’re a local restaurant owner who wants to source fresh, local produce for your menu, I’d love to connect. Over the past three years, I’ve built a network of local growers and makers in Port Crane and the surrounding areas, and we’re always looking for new ways to work with the community. Whether you’re a vendor who wants to join our Saturday market, a chef looking for a reliable source of fresh ingredients, or just someone who wants to learn more about what we grow, feel free to reach out. We’re always happy to welcome new people to the Port Crane table.

As we wrap up another season this October, I’m already thinking about next year. We want to add a winter market, maybe a monthly pop-up inside the fire hall, so we can keep selling local food when the snow comes. We want to partner with the local school to offer a kids’ garden program, so the next generation of Port Crane residents learns where their food comes from. And we want to keep growing, not just in size, but in how we serve the people who call this place home.

At the end of the day, the farmers’ market in Port Crane isn’t just a place to buy and sell food. It’s proof that small towns don’t have to wait for outside forces to build the things they need. We can build it ourselves, one Saturday at a time, with a table, some fresh produce, and a community that shows up. That’s why I’m proud to be a supplier here, and that’s why I’ll keep coming back to the fire hall lot every Saturday, rain or shine, to bring the best of what my farm has to offer.

If you’re interested in discussing supply for your restaurant, joining our weekly market, or learning more about local agricultural offerings, please connect with me.

Electric Wire Rope Hoist References

  1. New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. (2022). Local Food Market Development in Small Rural Communities.
  2. Port Crane Village Clerk’s Office. (2021). Historical Records of Community Events in the Village of Port Crane.
  3. Small Farm Central. (2023). Community-Led Farmers’ Markets: A Guide for Rural Areas.

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