WATERBORO – Those living in Waterboro, in neighboring communities and vacationing in the area will soon be able to buy produce, dairy products, baked goods, meats, poultry and other items from local farms, all in one location.

The weekly Waterboro Farmer’s Market debuts at 2 p.m. Monday on the grounds of the 1850 Taylor Frey Leavitt House, near the intersection of Old Alfred Road, Sokokis Trail (Route 5), and Townhouse Road. Sales wind down at 6 p.m.

Organizers Kala Godard of Four Hearts Farm and Delani Goeben of Midnight Farm, both in Waterboro, and Stacy Wallingford of Mighty Oaks Farm in nearby Shapleigh are vendors at other farm markets in York County. And while they enjoy those markets and do well, they thought it would be fun, good for sales, and good for the Waterboro community to have a local market.

“Kala came to me with the idea,” said Goeben. “She said “is this crazy or doable?” I said “doable.”

“There’s not a lot of places for people to congregate (in Waterboro) right now,” said Godard. “The Taylor House is an amazing location. It’s a great place for families to come.”

And the food is farm-raised or farm-baked.

Godard raises Nigerian dwarf goats at Four Hearts Farm, on Bradburn Road, where she lives with her husband Josh and daughters Melody and Harley. She started making soap from the milk her goats produce and soon expanded to other products, like cheese, yogurt, fudge, and other dairy items. As well, she raises show quality goats for sale.

A paramedic for many years, she is now farming full-time; her husband Josh is a public safety dispatcher.

Goeben raises chickens and ducks, and has planted vegetables and fruit trees to expand Midnight Farm, and her husband Zach is a beekeeper. They’re both employed full-time in Maine fire and EMS agencies. The couple began converting their property on Straw Mill Brook Road into a farm in 2017, she said.

Godard and Goeben talked about their farms and the Farmer’s Market at Four Hearts Farm on Monday afternoon, while a herd of goats frolicked in a large fenced-in pasture nearby.

They’re hoping the Waterboro market will draw customers not only from the immediate area, but from Shapleigh, Dayton, Alfred and other communities as well.

“There’s an atmosphere at farm markets, “said Godard. “You just can’t beat it.”

The market is scheduled to continue, 2 to 6 p.m., each Monday through Oct. 28. Parking is available on the property from the Old Alfred Road entrance. Parking is prohibited on the road.

Goeben and Godard pointed out that the location and timing will be good for families not only throughout the summer, but also when folks are picking up their children from nearby Waterboro Elementary School or Massabesic Middle School once school starts in the fall.

The organizers approached the Waterboro Board of Selectmen, which voted in favor of the project, and they also got the go ahead from the Waterboro Historical Society, which holds a 99-year lease on the Taylor Frey Leavitt property.

On opening day, eight area farms will be represented, including: Four Hearts Farm Udderly Delicious Creamery, with goat’s milk products and soap, baked breads and fudge; Midnight Farm, with produce, eggs, honey sticks and whole chickens; Eden Acres, with cider, eggs, honey and apples in season; and Blue Bird Bakery with baked goods, all of Waterboro; and Mighty Oaks Farm of Shapleigh offering pastured poultry, organic eggs, baked goods, grass fed beef and vegetables; Alderwood Farms, Limerick, offering beef, pork, maple syrup, honey and produce; Tatnic Witch Herbals, LLC of Wells, with herbal products, soaps, salves, balms, oils and salts and Wyndswept Farm of Limerick, with pork.

Godard and Goeben expect additional vendors, as the market progresses.

Later this fall, likely on Columbus Day Monday, they hope to offer a craft day at the farmer’s market, they said.

Jimmy DeBiasi, director of the Maine Federation of Farmer’s Markets, said the new Waterboro Farmer’s Market will be one of about 125 summer markets statewide. MFFM advocates for farmers market-friendly policies statewide and on the local level, he said, as well as promoting farmer’s markets online.

“We’re entering peak season,” said DeBiasi, who said the farmer’s markets are thriving right now.

The vendors are looking forward to opening day, and selling their wares that are made or raised close to home.

“We’re trying to keep things locally sourced as possible,” said Godard.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.