By Lisa Carolin
The outdoor farmers markets probably feel like something far away during these frigid, snowy days. In fact, both Chelsea markets open in just over two months, and there’s a new market manager at the helm.
She is Stephanie Willette, a farmer herself, who lives in Grass Lake and co-owns Two Track Acres, which will be at the Saturday market for the second year, selling chicken, pork, Thanksgiving turkeys, and vegetables.
Willette replaces Ashley Miller-Helmholdt, who moved out of state at the end of last season.
“I think we’ll have a pretty great market, and I’d like to continue the momentum,” said Willette. “I want the markets to be a good destination spot for people, a place to get healthy food, and to make them a great part of the Chelsea community. We’re on the right track.”
Among the changes this coming market season will be a new location for the Wednesday Bushel Basket Market at the Palmer Lot at 222 S. Main St., the same location as the Saturday Farmers Market.
“We want the market to be closer to downtown, and more walkable and visible for people driving by,” said Willette, who says that they’re sad to be moving away from the hospital site but will still work closely with St. Joseph Mercy-Chelsea, which houses her office and does much of the administrative work for the market.
The Wednesday market will change its hour to 2-6 p.m., and the Saturday market will keep the same hours, running from 8 a.m.-noon. She expects an average of 30 vendors on Saturdays and 20 on Wednesdays, and says that most vendors who were there last year will be returning.
The Saturday market will have monthly cooking demonstrations put on by 5 Healthy Towns, part of the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation, which helps fund the market and pays for Willette’s position.
Willette is hoping to obtain a credit card reading machine for the markets. Customers will be able to come to the main table to get tokens to spend, and vendors will redeem the tokens at the end of the day.
Willette grew up in Grand Rapids, and graduated from Kalamazoo College where she studied political science, concentrating on international human rights.
“I did a sustainable development program in Thailand, which was my first foray into farming and got to work with traditional farmers and study how their farming systems were affected by development,” said Willette.
She followed that with a three-year internship at Tantre Farm and then became farm manager for Capella Farm for two years.
Willette is on the committee for the Washtenaw County Food Policy Council, a group of farmers and people interested in farming who talk about policies in both the county and nationwide.
