St. Patrick’s Day

On St. Patrick’s Day everyone’s Irish, right? Long before the Irish were leaving Ireland because of the Great Potato famine, Irish and other settlers arrived in the Hamptons for the prospect of farming potatoes and other crops. (See http://www.easthampton.com/history/.)

Predominantly English in origin though the Dutch allegedly settled earlier, and not to mention the Native American peoples including the Shinnecock and Montauk, the early inhabitants in the 1600s came to the eastern island from New England for pursuits including farming and fishing. Early families in Southampton in 1639 from Massachusetts included the Howells, Farringtons, Stanboroughs, and Sayres.

Farming continued and evolved to include cauliflower, potatoes, and even dairy in the 1920s. http://bridgehamptonhistoricalsociety.org/The%20Bridge%202008.pdf

Fast-forward to 2016 and the resurgence of farming—but with farmers’ markets and rented plots on which to farm. Through a few farms have survived through the generations, new “farmers” have acquired land from Peconic Land Trust, created in the 1980s, to help preserve local farming and the area’s natural lands and heritage (https://www.peconiclandtrust.org/index.html; http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444592404578028563208397422). The trust enables those wishing to make their living at farming to have a nice opportunity on prime land by leasing affordable land which the Trust acquired through estates and other sales from the ultra-wealthy looking for a tax break. As a result, this new generation of high-end farmers can peddle their wares at farmers’ markets throughout the Hamptons. (See http://onehealthyhamptons.com/2015/05/19/hamptons-farmers-markets-farm-stands/.)

Farm to farmers’ market

Farmers’ market

From farm to farmers’ market, there is no better place to prepare for your Easter or Purim feasts this March than in the Hamptons! And if you need help shopping for your celebration, let A Votre Service! lend a hand.