< Tomatoes and Squash - two ways | Main | Tidbits >

A Dazzling Debut: Our New Farmers' Market!

Posted at 4:53 PM on September 27, 2008 by Donna McClurkan (9 Comments)

We did it. In just 24 days. We pulled off the first Farmers' Market in Texas Township, in my small community near Kalamazoo.

How did this happen so fast?

Township officials have been talking about a market project for 2009. They were serious enough about it to form a Farmers' Market committee, with membership open to anyone interested in participating. At our first official committee meeting on September 3, a crazy idea was proposed: why don't we have a one-day market this month - a "trial run" - to gauge community interest? We had the perfect excuse, as the township board unanimously agreed to designate September LOCAL FOOD MONTH.

The idea morphed into a date of ... today. With warp speed, funding was granted. Several enthusiastic volunteers and I soon began designing and distributing flyers, contacting growers, ordering tents, tables and an 18' banner, developing survey tools for vendors and shoppers, and researching food safety laws.

We set these modest targets, given the limited amount of time to prepare:
- 16 vendors/growers
- 200 - 300 shoppers

We were off. Way off.

By 7:55 on this perfect fall morning, we were ready to go. 24 vendors took great care to make their spaces come alive with color and seasonal bounty. Elephant garlic was displayed in baskets, eggs, honey cheese and baked goods were set out, and quarts of concord grapes were carefully arranged on lavender fabric. There were herbs and flowers from Toni and Dennis of Sun Meadow Greenhouse ...

... and pumpkins, squash and gourds galore. Haley (8) and her brother Isaac (10) show off produce they've grown under grandpa's guidance:

And Chef Channon Mondoux of Renaissance Cuisine was on hand to talk with parents about getting kids to eat veggies.

None of us knew what to expect. None of us expected what happened next.

Our first shoppers started to arrive ... first a trickle...then a crowd...and then a deluge!

A volunteer tallying at one of two entrances noted:
9:00 a.m. - 243 shoppers
9:45 a.m. - 500 shoppers
11:00 a.m. - 1,064 shoppers
12:00 noon - 1,271 shoppers

We didn't have a volunteer stationed at the other entry. Kids were not included in the tally.

Some vendors, planning for only 200-300 patrons (per our target) sold out within the first 90 minutes. Others happily sent helpers back to the farm (or kitchen) for more product to sell - a LOT more.

By noon, almost everything was sold.

As I write, it's been almost 4 hours since the vendors packed up and left our township's first market. I am overwhelmed, and it's hard to find words to describe how I feel about what happened in my community today. I dig into hundreds of completed surveys packed into the festive, fall-themed box (decorated by one of our volunteers) for inspiration. I pull 25 at random. Survey item # 3 asks: "Rate the importance of offering local food (grown, raised, processed in/near Michigan)" to which shoppers and vendors can circle "Very important," "Somewhat important, ", or "Not important."

All respondents in my random sample indicated it's "Very important" to offer local food at our market. On one survey, a vendor wrote "this market exceeded my wildest expectations."

Indeed.

Comments (9)

---

Congratulations, Donna. You and your community have done a great thing together! Here's hoping the market becomes a regular tradition.
Cheers,
Autumn

Posted by Autumn Long | September 29, 2008 7:26 AM

---

Hey Autumn, thanks for the congrats. It's great to be blogging again. Eating locally, helping others find local food by starting this market, and putting up food has turned out to be very time intensive! I look fw to sharing/trading stories as our year of blogging winds down.
Donna

Posted by Donna McClurkan | September 29, 2008 7:32 AM

---

Thank you, Donna, for all of your hard work and vision. You could sense a feeling of community pride and excitement. I think we are doing this at the right time and the right location!

Posted by Erin Hoogendyk | September 29, 2008 7:56 AM

---

Erin - Thank YOU for the vision and support (and trust) on the part of the township board. We learned a lot planning for and attending Saturday's event, which will help make our 2009 market a success. Thanks for your post, Erin!
Donna

Posted by Donna McClurkan | September 29, 2008 8:28 AM

---

Isn't it wonderful that something you believe in so deeply is rewarded by this fabulous turn-out. Thank you (and all the others) so much for your vision & leadership & hard work in putting this market together. I can't wait to go to it next year. Molly

Posted by Molly Ettwein | September 29, 2008 7:07 PM

---

Molly - thanks for the pat on the collective backs of the folks that made this market day special. I will let you know when the 2009 season kicks off so you can come & shop with us. Donna

Posted by Donna McClurkan | September 29, 2008 7:38 PM

---

Just to let you know that we are still hearing positive comments about the farmers market this week from our customers at Stillwaters...about how good the fresh produce was...about how people loved the "social" aspect of seeing neighbors there and chatting with them. It was a "family affair"...a neighbor affair...something that brought people together at our Texas Corners in a very positive way.
And, we are hearing from those that are sorry that they missed the event... and they are looking forward to the farmers market being here next year.

Posted by Patti @ stillwaters wines & spirits | September 30, 2008 9:55 AM

---

Patti - REAL food, community building, helping the local economy ... it's all good! Thanks so much for your comment. I look forward to planning next year's market, and appreciate everything you and Larry did to promote the event last Saturday.
Donna

Posted by Donna McClurkan | September 30, 2008 3:52 PM

---

Congrats!

Paulette

Posted by P. Thompson | October 2, 2008 9:23 PM