Saturday is a special day for the regulars at the Negros Farmers Weekend Market. It is an exciting gathering of sellers of fresh produce, processed food, homemade delicacies, Filipino and international cuisines, plants, handicrafts among so many wonderful items.
The weekend market opened more than a year ago at Magsaysay Street across DC Cruz and so far it has become a hub for Negrense artisans, micro-farmers and micro-entrepreneurs.The Negros Weekend Market is a project of the DC Cruz Trading Corporation and Herbe Foundation and was patterned after the Salcedo Weekend Market in Makati.
The Negros Farmers Weekend Market reminds me of the market days in rural towns. The weekend market is like an urban version of the tabu-an where every week there’s a designated market day where vendors from other places come to town to sell their wares.
The weekend market was originally open every Saturdays only and with a consumable P100 entrance fee. Due to the increasing number of buyers, they are now open every Saturdays and Sundays without entrance fee. Personally, I prefer to go on a Saturday because there are usually more vendors. The market is open from 7am to 3pm so but it is advisable to come as soon as they are open so you can get the best deals.
The weekend market is an alternative for those who love the open air but still want to buy the freshest produce at wet market prices. The weekend market area is divided into zones so it is easier for buyers to locate what they want to buy. Concrete pathways make it easier to go around the place especially when it rains.
Immediately to the right at the entrance is the Zone 5 which is the Fresh Produce Area where you can buy vegetables, seafoods, herbs, organic rice, eggs, among others. Zone 4 is the Retail Area for arts and crafts, and processed food. Fruits in season are also sold here.
Food You Can Buy at the Negros Weekend Market
Zone 3 is the Food Court and Dining Area where vendors offer a wide selection of food from local Negrense cuisine to foreign cuisine to vegetarian food and other artisan food. Most of these products can be bought only at the Negros Farmers Weekend Market. More dining spaces are available at the grill area at Zone 2a. Your orders are grilled as you wait.
Here are some of the food you can buy at the weekend market which I myself tried one weekend.
Japanese Ramen from OISCA. I’m not really into Japanese food but this ramen is really delicious and it’s only P60. It’s prepared by a Japanese and they sell other Japanese food at the OISCA booth.
Organic Vegetable Salad from Owa Taks’ Herb Farm/Buro-Buro Spring Organic Farm. I really love their Garden Salad, so refreshing and you are assured they only use organic vegetables.
Grass-fed Beef Burger at Sant Jordi Farms. The meat lovers will surely enjoy their burger with grass-fed beef. Their booth is manned by husband and wife team Hans Otto and Alessandra.
The Carrot and Walnut Cake and Double Black Cake of Alessandra also makes a good pair with Negros Island Rainforest Organic Coffee.
Of course I wasn’t able to finish all of it so I brought some home. These are just some of the food you can buy at the weekend market, there are many more choices which I myself gets confused because everything looks delicious.
5 Things You Can Teach Your Kids at the Negros Farmers Weekend Market
Weekends are the best time to go offline and the weekend market is a good place to bring your kids since they also have a large open space for kids to run around. For parents like me, The Negros Farmers Weekend Market is a good venue to teach our kids lessons in life.
- Teach kids why it’s best to grow your own food and how. They can also pick and buy vegetables at the Zone 1 or the Demo Farm.
- Teach kids the value of hard work. The vendors at the weekend market are a mix of small farmers, people’s organizations, and artisans. Some of them probably do not need to work on weekends or any day at all, but they do because they love what they do.
- Teach kids to eat healthy food. We probably don’t need to teach our kids to enjoy good food but to choose healthy food is something we have to teach them early in life. In the US, 2 out of 3 adults are obese and more than 1 in 6 children and adolescents ages 6 to 19 are considered to be obese. The trend of obesity in the Philippines is also increasing. Obesity is linked to preventable health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.
- Teach kids to value relationships and enjoy the company of friends and family. Technology has made us communicate over long distances but it sometimes make our relationships very impersonal. Let’s be an example to our kids and go offline on weekends to spend time with family and friends.
- Teach kids to take care of the environment. When kids see adults throw their garbage everywhere, they would think it’s okay. But it’s not, so again, let us be an example. The Negros Farmers Weekend Market holds shows for kids and adults about the environment among other useful topics.
Going to the Negros Farmers Weekend Market is something I always look forward to. There’s always a new product to discover every week and new friends to meet. Knowing that these products are all produced in Negros, by Negrense hands makes you proud to be a member of a growing community of supporters of the weekend market.
For updates, you may visit their website or their Facebook Page.
Website: http://negrosmarket.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/negros.farmers
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