| |
 |
WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
FOR THE 2010 SEASON
Happy New Year! I just want to give you a mid-winter report on the
farmers' market, so you can keep the market on the back burner. We
hired our new market manager, Phoebe Gooding. I am in the process
of training her, and if you haven't yet had the pleasure, you will
have a chance to meet her at the pre-market meeting on May 14th (the
Friday before the first market).
Jon Cohen, Phoebe and I
just attended the NOFA-Vermont Direct Marketing Conference in South
Royalton, Vermont. It was very inspiring. In addition to Jon & I
presenting on how the Bellows Falls Market involves its "host
community" (in particular, regarding the "downtown dollars" program
we did this summer), we attended workshops on various marketing
topics including advertising, internet as a marketing tool, bringing
more good food to low-income people, and starting a winter market.
Farmers, you might be interested in the following (that I
heard about or picked up at the conference):
Put your farm on
the map! Get your farm listed in the Local Growers Guide, a
searchable website that supports local farms by connecting people to
local products and raising awareness of where and how food is grown
in Vermont. Get listed for free at
www.vermontgrowersguide.com.
Attend the
Marketing That Sells course, a three-day course to help experienced
vegetable growers boost their sales through effective marketing.
Course is on Jan. 27th, Feb. 10th and Feb. 24th. For more
information, go to NOFA's website (www.nofavt.org)
and click on the link on the homepage "Marketing that Sells", or
call 802.434.4122.
Sign up for Vermont Farm Share Program,
a cost-sharing program that reduces the cost of a CSA share for
customers by 50%. The customers pays 50%, the CSA program (the
farmers) fundraises 25% from supporting CSA members, and NOFA-VT
matches 25%. More information at
www.nofavt.org/programs/farm-share or call 802.434.4122.
Sign up for the Senior Farm Share program, a federally-funded
program that provides a 10-week ($50) CSA share to low-income
seniors. Find out more at
www.nofavt.org/programs/farm-share/senior-farm-share-program or
by calling the NOFA number listed above.
Farms can now
directly accept EBT (food stamps) at a farm stand or CSA. Get the
application at
www.fns.usda.gov/FSP/Default.htm.
The
Bellows Falls Farmers Market is held every Friday evening, rain or
shine, from 4 to 7pm at the Waypoint Center in downtown Bellows
Falls.
For additional information about the
Bellows Falls Farmer’s Market, contact market manager Abi Miller
Healey at
bellowsfallsmarket@gmail.com or 802.387.6128, or see the
website at
www.bffarmersmarket.com.
The market is underwritten by the Springfield Hospital,
Chittenden Bank, Sovernet, Local Banquet magazine, and the Bellows
Falls Downtown Development Alliance.
|
|