Hopefully, everyone is aware that the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market is now year-round, and the vendors will be back at the Washington Street Education Center on Saturday, Jan. 7.
But what you might not know is that 70 small businesses participated in the Saturday Chelsea Farmers Market and the Wednesday Bushel Basket Farmers Market in 2016.
Vendors redeemed a total of $10,054 through the five food assistance Programs offered at the markets. Folks spent $2,427 through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as the Bridge Card.
In addition, vendors reported that $318 was spent by folks through the WIC Project Fresh program, $4,841 was spent through the Prescription for Health program, $2,406 though the Double Up Food Bucks program and $62 through Project Market Fresh.
The average customer count was 268 in 2016 at the Bushel Basket Market. There was an average of 14 vendors and $39,900 was reported as total vendor sales.
The average customer count at the Saturday Chelsea Market was 629 people and the average number of vendors each Saturday was 25. The vendors reported $103,900 in sales in 2016, compared to a total of $79,300 in 2015.
According to the statistics provided by Market Manager Stephanie Willette, 40 percent of the customers who shop at the Saturday Farmers Market also shop at nearby businesses, spending an average of $15 at those businesses. The combined economic impact of the Saturday market is $1.217,244.57 on the vendors, host neighborhood and surrounding region.
The total gross sales from all vendors was $143,800 and there were 23,700 individual visits logged during the season.
There were seven health education events, a weekly kid’s tent with a healthy theme, and eight cooking demos featuring seasonal recipes.
Forty-four percent of customers identified produce as their top purchase and all customers reported that their weekly consumption of fruits and vegetables increased because of the market. Plus, 35 percent said healthy food is the top reason they got to the market.
The market is made up of 40 percent produce, and 15 of the 37 seasonal vendors sell fruits and vegetables.
There are three certified organic vendors and four others using organic practices.
The sponsors of the markets are St. Joseph Mercy-Chelsea, Chelsea Friends and Family Wellness Foundation, 5 Healthy Towns and Chelsea Kiwanis. Key partners include Faith in Action, Washtenaw County Public Health and the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce.
