REC Mobile Farmers Market - Seven Hills Foundation

REC Mobile Farmers Market - Seven Hills Foundation is part of a Worcester food-access effort run by the Regional Environmental Council, a nonprofit food justice organization with a 53-year history tied to environmental sustainability and social justice in the city. At this stop, the market’s identity is shaped by that larger mission as much as by the shopping itself: REC’s programs include community and mobile farmers markets alongside community gardens and the YouthGROW urban agriculture program for Worcester teens. That gives this market a distinctly Worcester frame, connecting produce sales at Seven Hills Foundation with a broader local network of gardens, youth employment, and neighborhood market stops.

Why it matters locally

REC’s market work sits inside a Worcester-based organization focused on food justice, environmental sustainability, and social justice, rather than a standalone seasonal retail venture. Its programs span Community and Mobile Farmers Markets, Urban Garden Resources of Worcester, and Youth Growing Organics in Worcester, linking food access with school and community gardens and youth employment in urban agriculture.

The markets also create selling opportunities for small and medium-size farms, with REC describing them as a place to reach a diverse array of customers and build farm businesses. REC specifically encourages small urban growers and BIPOC growers to apply, and it provides technical assistance for Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons and SNAP/HIP transactions. Those details matter here because they show this mobile market as one piece of Worcester’s local food infrastructure, not just a weekly produce stop.

What you'll find there

The vendor mix leans heavily toward produce, culturally specific crops, and pantry staples, with a noticeable overlap between urban growers, diversified farms, and prepared-baked goods. The result is a market basket that can range from mustard greens and long beans to maple candy, raw honey, bread, mushrooms, eggs, beef, and Turkish coffee.

• -Pick up pure maple syrup, maple cream, maple sugar, and maple candies from Bucket List Maple Syrup.
• -Find year-round greens, seasonal produce, and fresh eggs from Cotyledon Farm.
• -Look for herbs, culturally significant crops, honey, and salves from Global Village Farms.
• -Choose microgreens such as sunflower, broccoli, sweet pea, and radish from Just For Fun Farms.
• -Expect edible gourds, pumpkin leaves, amaranth greens, jilo, mustard greens, and shell beans from Misigaro Farms.
• -Shop vegetables grown through greenhouse and outdoor production from REC YouthGROW Farm.
• -Bring home scratch-made breads and baked goods made with organic flours from Wooden Bakery.
• -Add pastries and traditional Turkish coffee from Daphne’s Tears Bakery Cafe.
• -Find fruits and vegetables, including fresh Mirai corn, from Harper Farms & Garden.
• -Stock up on raw honey, pasture-raised eggs, beeswax candles, and skincare products from Kelly Homestead Apiary.
• -Seek out bitter gourd, hot peppers, long beans, mustard greens, daikon, cilantro, eggplant, and cucumbers from Nuestro Huerto Urban Farm.
• -Buy grass-fed beef, fruits and vegetables, and award-winning ice cream from Rota Spring Farm.
• -Browse diversified fruits and vegetables from Coolidge Hill Farm.
• -Find fresh produce grown with non-GMO seeds from Fay Mountain Farm.
• -Shop tomatoes, peppers, okra, water spinach, sweet potato leaves, gourds, amaranth greens, malabar spinach, and lalu from Juakumbah Farms.
• -Source a range of source-identified foods from Marty's Local.
• -Look for responsibly grown food from Rattle Root Farm.
• -Pick up Shiitake, Blue Oyster, Golden Oyster, Pink Oyster, and Lion’s Mane mushrooms from Southeast Asian Coalition of Central MA.

Across the season, REC’s mobile market schedule also reaches stops including Elm Park Towers, Murray & Wellington Apartments, Webster Square Towers, Green Hill Towers, Autumn Woods, Plumley Village, Worcester Senior Center, Family Health Center of Worcester, Lincoln Village, Victoria Center, and Great Brook Valley. One clear thread here is how strongly the market mix reflects Worcester’s many food traditions through specific crops rather than generic produce-table language. Misigaro Farms brings edible gourds, pumpkin leaves, amaranth greens, jilo, mustard greens, and shell beans. Nuestro Huerto Urban Farm adds bitter gourd, long beans, daikon, cilantro, eggplant, and cucumbers. Juakumbah Farms lists water spinach, sweet potato leaves, malabar spinach, lalu, okra, and gourds among its naturally grown cultural crops. Global Village Farms also centers herbs and culturally significant crops, along with value-added products like honey and salves. Even the mushroom selection from Southeast Asian Coalition of Central MA pushes the market beyond the usual, with Shiitake, Blue Oyster, Golden Oyster, Pink Oyster, and Lion’s Mane in the mix. At this stop, the sense of place comes through in the crop list itself.

Know before you go

This is a short-stop market: the listed schedule shows morning service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with times running from 9:00am and closing at 10:00am or 11:00am depending on the stop. The Seven Hills Foundation location is at 81 Hope Ave. in Worcester, and parking is available in front of the building or in the parking lot directly to the right. Dogs are not allowed, and restrooms are not available.

If you follow REC markets elsewhere in the city, note that the broader mobile schedule also includes residential towers, the Worcester Senior Center, the Family Health Center of Worcester, and other neighborhood sites on different weekdays.

Payments & SNAP

SNAP/EBT is accepted at this market. REC also provides assistance around SNAP/HIP transactions and Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons as part of its market operations, which fits the organization’s food-access focus across Worcester. Payment methods are clearly identified for visitors, which helps at a mobile stop with a short shopping window.