STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Even though it’s winter, the region’s farmers and fishing community are still busy. Hence the steady stream of patrons to the borough’s pair of Greenmarkets at the St. George and Staten Island Mall locations.

Both operations run on Saturdays, rain or shine.

Rabbits Run farmers Laurie Churchill and Dan Torrison still bring turnips and garlic to St. George from their organic harvests. This rounds out their stand’s soaps, candles and noteworthy goat cheeses.

Back at the Bucks County, Pa., farm, Torrison reports, “Laurie will begin seeding again later this month for spring crops. I’m still milking the cow and a few goats as nearly all are pregnant, and I expect the first newborns to arrive the fourth week of February.”

Goats in winter at Rabbits Run. (Courtesy of Dan Torrison)

Other producers at the St. George market include: Stony Mountain ranch with grass-fed Piedmontese beef from Schuylkill County, Pa.; produce from Jersey Farm in Hunterdon County, N.J.; wild-caught whole fish and shellfish from American Pride Seafood in Suffolk County, N.Y.; and a broad assortment of baked goods from Francesca’s Bakery in Middlesex County, N.J.

The North Shore farm effort is located at the corner of St. Mark’s Place and Hyatt Street behind the St. George Theatre. It operates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday through April. Spring and summer hours vary.

At the Staten Island Mall in New Springville, visitors can expect orchard fruit and baked goods from Orchards of Concklin in Rockland County, N.Y. That market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m at Marsh Avenue and Ring Road in the commuter parking lot.

Cash, SNAP/EBT, Debit/Credit, WIC & Senior FMNP coupons are accepted at both markets. For EBT users, every $5 spent in EBT, customers receive a $2 Health Buck coupon to purchase additional fruits and vegetables.

Greenmarkets started on Staten Island in mid-July 1995 when local supporters in the neighborhood of St. George lobbied for the farmers. The producers set up shop in a municipal parking lot formerly across from what is now Enoteca Maria and Marie’s Gourmet 2, the very modern site of the St. George courthouse. It moved to its current home at Hyatt and St. Marks Place in 2010 as courthouse construction began. Greenmarkets were then supported by the New York City Council on the Environment and are now operated by GrowNYC, a division of the city that promotes sustainability.

Some pioneers of the Saturday tradition include Ted Dorian, then president of the St. George Civic Association, and the first Greenmarket manager, William Ellis. His wife, Miriam, eventually became the market manager. Also a force in establishing the borough’s first Greenmarket was Roberta “Bobbi” Jacobowitz for whom the street corner is named. She was the executive director of the St. George-Tompkinsville Improvement Corp.

Jacobowitz told the Advance’s Food Editor Jane Milza in 1995, ″If people support the market, more farmers will come here." Her philosophy was that since most of the produce was grown organically, without the use of pesticides, it would attract more shoppers.