The Farmers Market Coalition’s National Farmers Market Week is now in its 26th year. This annual celebration highlights the vital role farmers markets play in our nation’s food system. With fun events, programs, contests, activities, and more, the week helps to boost market attendance and visibility as well as showcase the value markets bring to their communities.
One of their slogans is “Farmers Markets Don’t Just Happen”. It takes a lot of work to make a market run efficiently. Behind a great farmers market is an amazing team. Much goes on from set up to break down. But there are many more moving pieces behind the scenes that allow our farmers market to serve the community.
Our amazing team and community…
The Market Manager – Michelle Pridgen has been the Independence Farmers Market Manager since December 2012. Just about every Friday for over a decade Michelle has ARRIVED AT THE MARKET AT 5:00 a.m. to start setting up. For the next 9+ hours she can be seen opening gates and doors, putting out signs, directing traffic – both car and foot traffic, answering questions, greeting vendors, answering questions, setting up tents and tables, answering questions, attending to special events for the week, talking to customers, taking photos, tasting food, awarding prizes, handing out SNAP and Kids Buck, until it’s time to start packing everything back up and bringing the market to an end for the day. While the market is only one day a week, Michelle also spends time throughout the week working on “all the other stuff” – social media, email, coordinating coming events, working with the Board, planning, networking with town officials, vendors, customers, and local businesses and organizations. Michelle is also the Director of Grayson LandCare AND tends to her farm, Windy Hill Flower Farm. It’s a lot!
The Assistant Market Manager – Shawn Boucher has overseen the online market since February. He coordinates with farmers/vendors and customers on Wednesdays at the Online Market and at other times throughout the week, works with Michelle on social media and other communications, sometimes fills in for Michelle on Fridays, and generally helps her with whatever she needs help with.
The IFM Board – Our board is made up of farmers, business owners and folks from the community. The board, along with Michelle and Shawn meet monthly to plan, share concerns, trouble shoot issues, collaborate on ideas for events & fundraising, community outreach, and overall working toward making the Market better each year. Our board members are:
Mary Nell McPherson
Nancy Harris
Dean McRae
Scott Jackson-Ricketts
Lorre Coone
Vanessa and Conrad Austin of CW Farm (new this month)
Rick and Jen Cavey
Rick and Jen have been on the board basically since there’s been a board. They’ve been instrumental in taking the Market from a few people setting up in an empty lot to what it is today. When they realized that the market needed help they took over leadership in 2011. In 2012 Rick wrote and was awarded the first USDA Farmers Market Promotion Grant (FMPP). Grayson LandCare (GLC) was the fiduciary agent, and the Market was created as a GLC committee. They became the Market’s volunteer managers. The Cavey’s also supplied the market with produce helping to attract more customers.
Business and Organization Sponsors – We’d like to thank our community sponsors for their financial support! We couldn’t do it without you!
Grayson County, VA
Landcrafted Food
River Ridge
Earth Momma Music
Matthews Trust
VIRGINIA IS FOR LOVERS
Edward Jones (Ches Helmick)
Skyline Bank – Skyline Bank has funded the Kids Day Kids Bucks as well as the June Cooking program in addition to a donation to the general fund. Thank you!
Donors – This year 2 anonymous donors stepped up to fund some of our event days. One donor funded our Kids Bucks program, and a local family funded our Tomato Day Healthy Kids Bucks and sponsored the Garlic Festival, including the Cooking Day event.
This year we launched our Market Sustainer Program. It allows community members to sign up to pledge to give a yearly donation for 3 years that will go towards salaries of our two part-time staff persons, insurance and supplies, advertising and marketing. This program is going to be extremely helpful in funding the daily operations of the Market. 19+ households have become Market Sustainers so far, pledging over $7000.
Market Sustainer donors:
- Kathy Cole
- Lorre & David Coone
- Mary Encarnacao
- John Fant & Brenda Bonk
- Paul Furr & Dean McRae
- Nancy Harris
- Rose Knudde
- Mary Nell McPherson & Kevin Strawn
- Barbara Moncreif
- Laura & Mark Ratcliffe
- Mary Ellen Rhudy & Doug Vaught
- Joyce Roberts
- Joyce & Richard Rouse
- Jean Roznik
- Karen & Bill Simpson
- Vicki & Landon Winstead
- Kim Baughman & John Duvall
- Roger and Emmie Tharrington
- Rick and Jen Cavey
Farmers Markets Don’t Just Happen… it takes an entire community, and this community has been amazing.
#FarmersMarketWeek
