The farmers market is happening this Friday, but we will be relocating to Town Center, right across the street from our usual home on the Green.
Come out to support your local food producers, who need the support now more than ever!
We have spent the past week reflecting on what seems to be becoming the annual community-whomping flood-event in our small, but mighty, state. We're guessing you probably spent time reflecting, too. There are so many questions to be answered- big existential questions about changing weather patterns and the future of the Volunteers Green...and Vermont...and our earthly-home...as well as the more tangibly answered questions regarding the minutiae of market logistics- location, safety, communication, budgeting...
We spent the past few days pivoting and we are happy to announce the market will be happening this Friday! Like last July after the flood, we will be setting up at Town Center on the lawn behind the Richmond Free Library and in front of the Town Hall. We are not sure how many weeks we will have to relocate here. The road crew is working hard to repair all the road damage before moving on to clean up the park. When the park is cleaned up, we will move back to our home.
This location change puts pressure on our vendors, our team, and the market and our systems more generally. There are a few things you could do to help make sure our vendors thrive like they would have without a flood and location change, our managers have the support they need to adapt to the location change, and our budget does not take a major hit.
1) You can make a point to grocery shop with our farmers, gift shop with our artisans, and get fixings for Friday night dinner at the market.
2) We need help from volunteers to help with additional tasks this week, please click this link to sign up for a time slot and task.
Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12R5-1yDxhoLXpXAGwYNkAnWIx1Vo1hCTHrkbMrXN2nk/edit?gid=0#gid=0
3) Consider financially supporting the market by participating in our Silent Auction Fundraiser. The Auction brings money into the market so that we: have the financial capacity for resilience in times of hardship, can afford to pay for additional promotion, can fortify local farm incentive programs when our farmers have been hit hard by weather or flooding, can compensate our managers for the extra time they have to spend responding to mid-season changes...and more! We hope you will take a look and make a bid and we thank you in advance for taking part in sustaining the market through thick and thin!
Link: https://www.32auctions.com/RichmondFarmersMarketVT
Luckily, some things do remain steady despite flooding and disruption... like our music offering each week! This week The Ol' Rascals are playing from 4-6pm. These folks are a recently formed band of neighbors and ol' friends who enjoy getting together to jam! They play mostly traditional tunes with some originals thrown in. Enjoy the free show on the grass behind the library.
For families who are enrolled in the WIC nutrition program, WIC will be tabling at the market this week to distribute Farm to Family coupons! These coupons can be used to purchase produce at any Vermont farmers market. Pick up your Friday from 3-6:30pm.
A note about parking… during our time at Town Center, parking is limited. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THE POST OFFICE AREA. There may be mail trucks going in and out that need extra space to maneuver safely. If the lot fills up, our normal lot across the street may also be used. You can park on the paved portion of the Volunteers Green lot, however the dirt road leading to the back fields is closed and cannot be used for parking! It is a very short walk from the Volunteers Green to Town Center. For those who can, consider biking or walking to the market this week!
See you on Friday,
The RFM Team
A big thank you to this year's sponsors: Northfield Savings Bank and Richmond Family Medicine!
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