FOR A SIMPLE, succulent thrill, sample citrus on a Saturday at the Wintertime Farmers’ Market in the old candy factory, now Hope Artiste Village, at 1005 Main St., in Pawtucket.

Outside, the noonday temperature was about 15 degrees and the snow banks maybe three feet high when our family entered the light, airy building in search of honeybell tangelos. Floridians call these the most sought-after orange hybrids. Honeybells are available primarily in January.

Sheri Griffin manned the citrus stand at the market. Eight bushels of fresh grapefruit, oranges and tangelos hand-packed the previous Monday had arrived Friday. The produce came from a grove, called Countryside Citrus, in Wabasso, Fla. Griffin’s grandfather planted the trees about 50 years ago. “My grandmother used to sell the fruit from the front porch,” she said.

Griffin is markets coordinator for Farm Fresh Rhode Island. She and her colleagues have helped spawn the network of farmers’ markets across the Ocean State.

Last year’s winter market was the first in Rhode Island. It included five farmers — with three showing up consistently over the market’s December-through-April run. Some farmers sold late-season crops such as cabbage, carrots, onions and radishes. One offered oysters. Other folks sold bread, cheese, coffee and jams.

This year, there are several more farmers and sellers, presenting apples, breads, chocolate, eggs, greens, herbs, honey, jellies, meat, pickles, potatoes, fresh garden greens, creams, essential oils and more.

The winter market features an elongated hallway lined on each side with stalls. When we visited, it was packed with shoppers, reminding me of Grand Central Station, with folks flowing to and fro, or congregating around popular stands such as the state’s only cheese makers, Narragansett Creamery.

One non-local vendor is a Maine farmer, who delivers between 200 and 500 pounds of dried beans every two months or so, when he comes down to Rhode Island to visit his parents. His success in selling those beans means that some local farmers will likely bring their dried beans to the winter market next year, Griffin said.

Countryside Citrus may not qualify as local, but the produce comes from a family we know, folks who hand pick, grade and ship their own fruit, and engage in fair trade and labor practices.

“Much of the citrus harvesting in Florida is done by deeply underpaid and otherwise poorly treated migrant workers,” Griffin said. “The small crew that works for my parents are salaried employees, with health-care benefits.”

I called Griffin’s idea to sell from her family farm to us Northerners hemmed in by cold, ice and snow, “thinking outside the produce box.”

We tried our first honeybell when we got home. A bite released sweet juice onto our tongues. This caused our eyes to open wide, and our mouths to form broad grins.

We had read this in a brochure about honeybells: “When you taste one, you will understand why people become possessed by the flavor.” Now, we understood.

Besides the honeybells, we sampled a ruby red grapefruit and a red navel orange, which revealed crimson-colored flesh. Both fruits were heavy with sugary juice. And we brought home a bag of 20 pecans from Griffin’s stand. Their label read: “Grown at Sheri’s aunt’s orchard in Georgia,” and displayed a tiny image of the tree’s long-stemmed leaf.

The nuts were fresh, rich and buttery.

No matter what time of year, a farmers’ market reminds us of nature’s bounty. The Southern produce was a tasty way to let one family’s sunshine into the darkest heart of our New England winter.

Scott Turner is a Providence-based nature writer. His columns appear here each Saturday ( scottturnerster@gmail.com).