Best Places For Fresh Fruit In Boston
Haymarket
Faneuil Hall
Congress and Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 635-4500
www.boston-discovery-guide.com
The oldest outdoor market in Boston, Haymarket near Faneuil Hall is open every Friday and Saturday from dawn to dusk (well, 6 AM to 6 PM for most vendors) year round. As it has been since the early 1800s, Haymarket is where local farmers and other producers and sellers of fresh fruit, produce, meat, cheese, baked goods, flowers and other products offer their wares to the public. Once the place where farmers came to sell their hay (thus the name), Haymarket has grown into a vibrant marketplace that is always alive with the colors, smells and tastes of the seasonal bounty of New England. Haymarket, however, is not a farmer's market in the traditional sense. It is an outdoor market in the European sense, and while the fruit and produce are ripe and fresh, not all of it is local.
381 Washington St.
Brighton, MA 02135
(617) 254-0500
www.facebook.com
Johnny D's Fruit and Produce in Brighton is so old school that they do not even have a website - but they do have a Facebook page, which at least posts their hours and allows for customers to message them to ask questions about what is available that day. Going there in person, however, is part of the experience. This is a greengrocer from a bygone era, and its aisles are overflowing with boxes and bins and crates of fresh local and imported produce. It is like walking into a cornucopia. There is even a real "Johnny D" - John DiPietro, a Brighton native who grew up around the corner from his store. He learned his trade working at other greengrocers and producer markets before finally opening a small fruit stand in his old neighborhood. He has come a long way from that little back alley fruit stand, and people come from all over Brighton, Allston and even Boston proper to shop at Johnny D's.
Dewey Square Farmer's Market
600 Atlantic Ave.
On the Rose Kennedy Greenway across from South Station
Boston, MA 02113
(617) 973-4909
www.bostonpublicmarket.org
Every Tuesday and Thursday from mid-May until late November the Boston Public Market Association sponsors a massive farmer's market in Dewey Square. Located right outside South Station at 600 Atlantic Avenue, the square is ideally situated to meet the needs of the downtown lunch crowd - and the needs of those who work and shop downtown. Open from 11:30 AM until 6:30 PM twice a week for six months out of the year, the market offers a wide and ever-changing variety of fresh fruit and produce suppliers and other vendors, including local bakeries, greenhouses, florists, dairies, butchers and cheese makers.
Related: Boston Areas Best Farm Shares
Wilson Farm
10 Pleasant St.
Lexington MA 02421
(781) 862-3900
www.wilsonfarm.com
As it was centuries ago, Boston is surrounded by farms - and Wilson Farm in Lexington is one of the largest, most famous and best known for its homegrown fruits and vegetables. A short ride out of the city, Wilson Farm, as its motto promises, offers "Fresh. Affordable. Local" produce year-round. Its farm stand offers seasonally appropriate locally grown fruit and produce, while its bakery and shop provide baked and canned goods made from the farm's bounty. There is also a nursery, butcher and cheese shop on the premises. Wilson's is not just a place to shop for fresh fruit and produce, it is also a place to take the family for a day out, as it has an animal barn and petting area, offers farm tours for children and sponsors numerous family events, including mazes and special festivals when the strawberries, corn and tomatoes are ripe.
50 Terminal St.
Building 2, Suite 105
Charlestown, MA 02129
www.bostonorganics.com
For those too busy to get to a green grocer, farm market or other purveyor of fresh fruits and produce, Boston Organics is an easy and affordable way to get fresh, organic fruits and vegetables and more delivered to their door. Customers simply go on line to their site, choose the size of the box and what they want to put in it and schedule a delivery time. Boston Organics is a very flexible, year-round supplier of seasonal fresh fruits and produce, with a pay-as-you-go system. There are no membership fees or up-front costs like many co-ops and farm shares programs, and there are no delivery charges or other fees. Boston Organics guarantees that all of their products are fresh and organic, and local, and they offer a wide variety of "grocery add-ons" as they call them, such as organic juices and snacks.
