Hope & Main’s Schoolyard Market opens June 15

Posted 6/9/22

Schoolyard Market happens every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. June 15 through Sept. 28 at Hope & Main, 691 Main Street, Warren.

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Hope & Main’s Schoolyard Market opens June 15

Posted

If you’re not hanging out in the Schoolyard at Hope & Main on Wednesday evenings with a craft cocktail and freshly fried Lumpia, a cup of award-winning chowder or artisanal pizza, well, you’re missing out!

The food incubator’s Schoolyard Market has grown, pivoted and feels more like a neighborhood block party than a food market ever since Hope & Main moved its signature event from Sunday mornings to Wednesday evenings. Featuring at least one food truck and several prepared meal makers per event, this unique marketplace is a true locavore’s delight.

Each week the market will host more than 20 different vendors, live cooking demonstrations and activities for kids, and a fun line-up of themes from Make Your Own Ice Cream Sundae to Yappy Hour for furry market-goers. Lawn chairs, wagons and extra shopping totes are strongly encouraged.

“I love watching the schoolyard bloom into a festive, neighborhood market each week,” says Alison Mountford, Hope & Main’s new Market Coordinator, “I've recently returned home to RI, after many years working at markets in San Francisco, and it's clear that even though Warren is a small town, Hope & Main makers bring big time artistry and passion to the local food scene.”

Hope & Main’s Wednesday markets provide a convenient midweek location to pick up dinner, shop for a backyard Summer cook-out, and stock up on old classics and new favorites made by Hope & Main makers, including hummus, pita chips, pimento cheese, marinara, hand-made pasta, herbal teas, empanadas, artisanal chocolate, blondies and pastries, small batch roasted nuts, granola, locally grown vegetables and so much more! Food trucks and other made-to-order makers offer an ideal weeknight meal solution for busy families, conveniently located on Main Street in Warren between Bristol and Barrington.

Both RI and MA Food Stamp (EBT) recipients are encouraged to shop at the Schoolyard to make the most of SNAP dollars. Hope & Main’s continued partnership with Farm Fresh Rhode Island provides a dollar for dollar match, doubling the amount that customers can spend. On-site farmers accept WIC and Senior Citizen coupons, too. Families can pick up free Nourish Our Neighbors meals and others can participate in Hope & Main’s Buy One, Give program, i.e., buy a meal for your own family and give one to a neighbor in need.

Hope & Main’s markets are partially funded by the USDA’s Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) grant and perennial presenting sponsor, Blount Fine Foods. Data captured from vendors and market-goers is helping to quantify the impact of this innovative food incubation program on local job creation; building a more sustainable regional food system; and on the overall local food economy.

Later this summer, Schoolyard Market fans can vote to help their favorite Hope & Main contestant win the Sam Adams Brewing the American Dream Pitch Competition. Finalists will compete to win $10,000 at the market season’s September 10 celebration, the Schoolyard Twilight Party.

Schoolyard Market happens every Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. June 15 through Sept. 28 at Hope & Main, 691 Main Street, Warren, RI 02885. It is free and open to the public. Well-behaved, leashed pets welcome. Rain or shine. Free municipal parking. A full list of vendors, programming and market-day details is available at https://makefoodyourbusiness.org/markets/

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