By Fiona Stoner
Northside Farmers Market
As the outdoor market season comes to a close Oct. 23, I want to express my gratitude to all the dedicated people who make the Northside Farmers Market (NFM) happen.
Dave and Don Bruns, co-owners of the Northside TownCenter, have been extremely generous with their time and resources. They have donated use of the parking lot and retail space to the NFM since 2005. We thank them for their continued support.
Our vendors take on a great deal of expense and risk to produce the goods offered at the market — buy seeds, repair equipment and potentially hire workers for the busy growing season. Licenses must be renewed and applications for the NFM season must be timely submitted. Many decisions must be made well in advance of the planting, canning, baking and production of food and goods we depend upon throughout the year. A big thank you to all of the vendors who make the decision to join us.
Volunteers show up each week to start coffee, put out signs, and set up dining and information tents. At the end of the day, they take it all down and get everything ready for the next week. We are grateful to our volunteer coordinator, Rachel Braun, who emails volunteers each week to sign up for shifts and organizes a volunteer celebration. This year volunteers and board members celebrated with food and a Mallard’s game; we will plan future events to continue the new tradition of thanks.
We are grateful to Equal Exchange, Fox Water and volunteer coffee brewers. With their help we are able to provide market goers with free, hot and tasty coffee every Sunday. Please support these businesses and tell them you appreciate their support of the NFM.
Our customers keep the market happening year after year. You value locally produced foods and goods that you find at the NFM and understand the importance of spending your dollars where they will have the greatest impact on our economy. We appreciate your continued support.
Musicians, nonprofit organizations, volunteer board members, and the Master Gardeners also help make the NFM a place to visit with neighbors, enjoy music and food, and learn about other organizations in our community. Thank you for your contributions.
Our go-to person each market day and throughout the year is NFM manager, Rita Jones. She has spent countless hours responding to queries, reporting to the board, keeping records, picking up coffee, and making sure the market runs smoothly each week. She commits to every task and works hard on all the details, and it shows. Rita coordinated the move to the temporary location this summer. We are grateful for the hard work she has put in as the NFM manager for the past two years. Rita has decided to leave the NFM at the end of this season. Thank you for all of your hard work, Rita; we wish you the best in your next endeavor.
This winter season will be a time for the board of directors to regroup, strategize and plan for next summer and beyond. For this reason, as well as the unavailability of a dedicated location to host an indoor market, the decision was made to cancel the indoor Northside Winter Market. The board did not make this decision lightly. We understand this will impact vendors and customers who have attended the Northside Winter Market in the past. We appreciate your dedication and hope to host a winter market again in the future. We will take this quiet time over the winter to chart a course for the NFM to maintain its presence as the Sunday morning meeting place.
If you love the NFM and wonder how you can support it, consider volunteering. The NFM is an enterprise built by the community and for the community, and it relies on volunteers to keep things going. There are many ways to get involved — volunteering on market days, serving on the board, spreading the word about the market or providing entertainment. To get started, email Volunteers@northsidefarmersmarket.org. We hope you join us for next year’s outdoor season.
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