Union Square Greenmarket

Being able to get your groceries from the same place that Momofuku's David Chang does for his restaurants is a pretty big deal. New York City residents can at Union Square’s Greenmarket, where celebrity chef David Chang, as well as almost every single Union Square restaurant, shops for their ingredients.

The Greenmarket, which sets up every Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8 AM to 6 PM, is run by GrowNYC, a non-profit organization whose mission is to is to “improve New York City’s quality of life through environmental programs…and empower all New Yorkers to secure a clean and healthy environment for future generations,” as said in their website. Other than providing fresh, local produce through things like the Greenmarket, they also build community gardens, raise awareness about recycling, and offer educational programs for the youth.

The Greenmarket, which sells freshly picked fruits and vegetables, as well as homemade treats like pies and cakes, has been around for over thirty years. But little is known about how it was originally created to construct a direct relationship between local farmers and city residents --for the small farmers, a chance to be able to sell in large cities, and for New Yorkers, an opportunity to get to know the actual people that grew their food.

GrowNYC’s Greenmarket is today the largest outdoor farmers market network with over 200 farms selling at 51 locations all over the country.

Over 140 local growers participate in the Union Square Greenmarket, GrowNYC’s most popular market. Also being the largest Greenmarket, there’s always something entertaining going on. There are cooking demonstrations every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and occasionally, there are books signings and food tastings. There is a pumpkin carving/decorating demonstration that is going on right now in celebration of the upcoming Halloween weekend.

You might attribute the Greenmarket as the best place for fresh produce, a cause of Union Square’s human traffic or just as a fun place to be on the weekends. Regardless, take advantage of the flagship Greenmarket, which offers all kind of goodies such as homemade apple cider, syrup, cheeses, pastries, fruits and vegetables – the list literally goes on forever with different sellers coming in all the time. It is definitely a place that is worth spending your time at. Plus, who knows which celebrity chef you’ll run into.

For more information about Union Square’s Greenmarket click here.

For a list of the possible celebrity chefs you might spot click here.