LYNN — The Food Project’s farmers market, which began on Thursday, has drawn residents with the promise of affordable fresh produce. 

At the season’s first market, three vendors brought their best crops. The first vendor, The Lynn Food Project, grows their produce in two areas: an urban farm at Ingalls Elementary School and its suburban farm in Wenham, Gray Lawson, food access and education manager, said. 

All the produce grown at The Food Project’s locations are grown organically, Lawson said. 

“It’s not treated with any chemicals or pesticides; it’s all kind of organic,” Lawson said. “We’re not certified organic, but (we use) organic fertilizer and such.” 

The two other vendors at the market, Farmer Dave’s, with their farms in Dracut and Tewksbury, and Riverdale Farms, located in Groton, also grow their fruits, veggies, and herbs organically. 

On average, Lawson said around 250 to 450 people come to the market every week to buy low-cost produce that is available through SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and HIP (Healthy Incentives Program) programs, which have made an extremely positive impact on the community of Lynn. 

SNAP benefits are federally-provided funds for low-income households, and HIP are state-funded benefits that match SNAP purchases, dollar for dollar, and allow Massachusetts residents to buy fresh produce from local farmers markets, according to Massachusetts Legal Services. 

In the City of Lynn, 27,827 residents or 28% of the population is on SNAP and HIP benefits, according to a 2025 report by Boston Indicators. With more than a quarter of the population relying on these state and federally-provided funds, having access to fresh food has become an even bigger issue.  

“We want you to use them,” Lawson said. “If you don’t know how to get SNAP, we’ll hook you up. We’ll get you connected to somebody.” 

To add to the difficulty of the availability of fresh foods, there are not many options for good produce locally other than at big grocery stores, like the Market Basket on Federal Street and the Stop & Shop on Washington Street. 

“Lynn is an urban center, and it’s also considered a food desert, which is… basically a town or community that doesn’t have access to fresh, healthy, locally grown produce, and that also means not a lot of access to grocery stores,” Lawson said. 

Most shoppers spend $5 to $20 on multiple bags of produce, Lawson added, making it an astronomically inexpensive resource compared to grocery store produce. 

At grocery stores, produce prices have been climbing during the current Trump Administration, with a 6.5% increase in fresh vegetables and fruits from last year, according to a recent AP News article. 

One thing the supervisor of Farmer Dave’s, Miriani Matcharashvili, said was that the food that comes from their farms tastes better and is better than grocery produce that is covered in pesticide sprays and grown in chemically altered soil. 

Matcharashvili said that an ongoing trend he’s seen is people buying from grocery stores and getting fruits that appear plastic-like, “…and some kind of don’t have a taste.” 

This is due to big grocery stores wanting to increase their shelf life by using sprays and other products to maintain the quality of the foods, Matcharashvili said.

For Thursday’s market, Farmer Dave’s harvested their produce the same day at 5 a.m., rinsed and then put on the trucks to bring it to Lynn Commons, Matcharashvili said. Some produce that is out of season, such as the apples at his stand, was harvested nearly a year ago, but proper refrigeration techniques allows it to taste and look as if it were picked right off the tree that day, Matcharashvili said. 

“We have a good system of cold storage,” Matcharashvili said. He added that the products that skip the cold storage process are offered at a cheaper price, because of not needing to reflect the cost of electricity to keep the refrigerators on. 

Farmer Dave’s also encourages shoppers to go to their farms to pick and harvest food on their own, said Matcharashvili. The farm recently had people come to pick strawberries, and the crop varies depending on what’s in season. Blueberries, peaches, and more can be picked as a fun family activity, Matcharashvili added.

The Riverdale Farm Supervisor, Manalo Moquete, shared that the more of a produce they get in harvest, the cheaper the price is per pound, which ends up being some of the most purchased products in Lynn, like corn. 

Moquete added that when shoppers get fruits and vegetables from their stand, it keeps all the nutrients that are known to be beneficial to the bodies, instead of grocery store produce that sits for months, losing those nutrients. 

“Some produce comes from other countries and they sit for a week or month over there and they lose all the proteins and vitamins,” Moquete said. 

An initiative the Riverdale Farm has taken is making small take-home planters for herbs that can get residents growing food in their own homes, Moquete said. For example, Moquete put small pots of rue out; an herb loved by many Hispanic people, which they put in their tea, and whom many believe brings good luck into their home. 

For many, these annual farmer’s markets bring fresher, healthier, and more cared for food to the tables of Lynn residents. For Nathaniel Vega-Yu, the urban food access peer leader at the Lynn Food Project, the market has brought confidence and the love of caring for his own community. 

After conversing with hundreds of people over the past four years and seeing how much a small act can make a big change in people’s lives, Vega-Yu hopes to take his next steps in university, with a concentration in political science and social justice. 

“I came in when I was like 15,” Vega-Yu said. “I was brand new to all of this, and I think it’s definitely helped me become more extroverted, definitely more comfortable as a public speaker, and also more involved with my community.” 

As a Lynn native and recent graduate of Frederick Douglass Collegiate Academy, supporting and building his community up has become a core part of Vega-Yu’s life. One thing he shared was that seeing the hard efforts of his team come together is one of the best parts of the job.  

“I think we have great teamwork and synergy, and I have a wonderful time working with them; especially like this morning we were doing a lot of harvesting and preparing for this market in and of itself… and I’m really just glad that it all comes to fruition in the markets,” Vega-Yu said. 

To add to why fresh and healthy food is important in itself as well as being accessible to Lynn, Lawson added that food is the one thing that is a sure-fire way to bring people together. 

“Food is culture. Food is community. Food is health,” Lawson said.

People crowd around Farmer Dave’s stand during the first Lynn Farmer’s Market of the season on Thursday.

Bright yellow bell peppers available at Farmer Dave’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market.

People inspect the fresh produce on offer from Farmer Dave’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market.

Blackberries, tomatoes, and strawberries available at Farmer Dave’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market.

A woman grabs a carton of blueberries from Farmer Dave’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market on Thursday.

Red onions available at Farmer Dave’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market.

Kathleen Collado inspects a bundle of kale at The Food Project’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market.

Daikon radishes grown bu The Food Project in Lynn available at the Lynn Farmer’s Market.

A woman picks out bundles of rainbow chard from The Food Project’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market.

The stems of rainbow chard at The Food Project’s stand.

Nadia Portorreal picks out some parsley from The Food Project’s stand during the Lynn Farmer’s Market on Thursday.

The Food Project stand was offering purslane, an edible weed found in many gardens that is rich in omega-3s, vitamins, and minerals, during the Lynn Farmer’s Market on Thursday.

The Food Project’s Jasmine Ma helps Adeline Slocum bag up her fresh produce during the Lynn Farmer’s Market on Thursday.