For those who bemoaned the end of summer's bounty, there is something to celebrate at the Danbury Fair mall. For the first time this past Saturday, and throughout the weekends of the winter months, the same fresh vegetables, breads, pastries, meats and cheeses found at the Danbury summer market, will now be available inside the mall.

Looking over the vendors as they set up their stalls for the first time, Maura Ruby, senior manager and property manager of the mall was particularly excited to see the farmer's market indoors. “Now I can have those scones all year long,” she sighed happily.

There to oversee the new installation were Melanie Franklin and Antony Lee, CEO of Fresh Nation, who had seen a need for an indoor market and decided to fill it.

“My son is very into natural foods and there was no brand or chain of farmer's markets, so we decided to do this,” Franklin said. “There is nothing else like this in the area, and maybe even in the country. It's been a win-win for everyone.”

New vendors will be added throughout the winter, Franklin said. “We saw a lot of farmer's markets popping up everywhere, but there was nothing that encouraged a whole range of products. This is a mall, it's part of the community. Now there will be fresh vegetables and green house foods throughout the winter. The nutrient value is there.”

Lee said that the most important thing is that farmers and artisans now have an outlet to sell their foods and items after November when they generally close down. “The malls have have always had a reputation of killing the local merchants, but this brings local into the mall,” Lee said. “And it is very good for shoppers, they now have access to healthier food alternatives in the mall.”

 There may be many good reasons to have fresh food vendors in the mall, but the best reasons are the ones to be sampled. Baker Maurizia Riso, of Maura & Nuccia Artisan Dessert, makes all of her own bakery goods. There is an apple-orange pie, plum pie, tiramisu, and a dense, oh-so-moist chocolate-amaretto cake that has a pear baked right into the center. There are samples for many kinds of home made biscotti, cookies and pies.

For the healthier at heart, there are almost as many vegetables as one might expect in the summer. “We'll have apples, winter squash, all kinds of root cellar vegetables, cider and donuts all winter long. We also make our own frozen veggies, but we don't know if we will be bringing them into the mall or not. We also carry fresh eggs from a farm down the street from us,” Alex Ford, Tippoli, N.Y., said.

 The growing trend of eating healthier was noted by vendors and shoppers.  “We're so happy to buy locally grown fresh vegetables that weren't grown by huge conglomerates,” Joe and Kathy Brandt exclaimed. “We're still hippies!”  (Joe said though his ponytail was no longer visible to others, he still has one on the inside.)

For those who take the healthier trend very seriously, Mark Kiernan, the owner of Kiernan Meats, explained the difference between grass fed, hormone free beef and the grain fed, supermarket variety.

"The problem with grain fed cows," Keirnan explained, "is that grains become sugars and fats, which is converted in Omega 6, the bad cholesterol.  Grass fed cows eat what they were intended to eat, and their foods are converted into Omega 3, the good cholesterol."

Further, according to Kiernan, all naturally raised cows are not subjected to the hormone implants that many corporate farm animals are. According to Kiernan, from 75 percent to 90 percent of beef purchased in the supermarket contains steroids.

Because all natural cows must be allowed to mature naturally, over 12 months time, without growth hormones or cramped conditions, the price for the beef is almost double, but Keirnan said the price is worth it.

“The meat is 88 to 92 percent lean, because that is how they naturally are from their diet.” He added, “About 95 percent of people who come in and just buy a pound of hamburger meat come back and say 'Wow! The taste is completely different.'”

Shoppers who entered through Lord and Taylor were surprised to see the heavily laden, colorful stalls.  “I think this whole thing is wonderful. I see vendors here I don't see at any other farmers market,” said Deanne Komlo, of Brookfield, as she peered through all of the different types of colorful and wildly shaped fresh pasta.

 Lingering over the tomatoes, shopper and mom Kelly Taborsak, Danbury, agreed. “It's great! It's convenient, it's wonderful to see so many fresh foods at the mall. It's much better than what you can usually find to eat here. It'll be great to come during the Christmas shopping,” she said happily.