By Lisa Carolin
More than 40 vendors gathered March 16 at the White Oak Center at St. Joseph Mercy-Chelsea for an orientation about the Chelsea Farmers Markets, which get underway in May.
Vendors for both the Saturday Farmers Market and the Wednesday Bushel Basket Market were represented at the meeting where marketing rules, licensing requirements, space assignments and token programs were reviewed.
Stephanie Willette, the new market manager, led the meeting. One of the big changes she told vendors is that the Wednesday market will be relocating to the Palmer Lot at 222 S. Main St., where the Saturday Farmers Market is held.
“We hope to increase business by moving the Wednesday market to the Palmer Lot, which has more visibility,” said Autumn Orta, who works for St. Joseph Mercy-Chelsea’s Community Health Improvement Programs, which oversees the farmers markets. “The Saturday market gets twice the number of people that the Wednesday market does.”
Willette said that she is hoping to get a credit card reading machine for both markets, which would allow customers to get tokens to spend when they are at the market.
She says that there will also be Senior Project FRESH coupons available to seniors this year, in which coupons are distributed at various senior facilities in the Chelsea area to be used toward the purchase of fruits and vegetables at the markets.
Coming up in April, with a date yet to be announced, there will be a market kickoff fundraiser at the Chelsea Alehouse Brewery in partnership with the Chelsea Community Kitchen. Willette says the markets are always looking for volunteers
Anyone interested in volunteering to be a food educator for children is invited to a training session by Hether Freyer, the “Fresh Food Fairy” from the Kalamazoo Farm Market, where she has a booth and uses games and art to educate kids about fresh food. She’s offering a free training session Friday, March 27, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Dexter Wellness Center on Baker Road in Dexter.
On July 18, the Ironclad Vintage Base Ball Festival will be held at Chelsea High School put on by the Monitor and Merrimack Base Ball Clubs of Chelsea. Market vendors will set up booths at lunch time during the day-long festival, which is free and open to the public, and will feature vintage baseball clubs from around Michigan and Ohio.
The Chelsea Farmers Market begins on Saturday, May 2 and runs from 8 a.m.-noon. The Wednesday Bushel Basket Market begins on May 6 and runs from 2-6 p.m.
