Logansport Farmers Market spring meeting draws big crowd
Apr. 11—The turnout at the Logansport Farmers Market Spring Informational Vendor Meeting Tuesday night was so large, the board had to skip vendor introductions for the sake of time.
"We were not expecting this many people," co-market master Kathy Courtad said at the start of the meeting.
The room was packed with dozens of new, old and potentially interested vendors. The board announced some updates to the Farmers Market, including new hours, a possible new structure and more.
To start the meeting, Purdue Extension Educator Krista Pullen was called up to speak about a potential kids program for the Farmers Market. She shared plans for the POP Club, created by the Farmers Market Coalition and run by the Purdue Extension Nutrition Education Program.
Standing for "Power of Produce," kids ages 2 through 12 would get to participate in a craft or activity themed around nutrition and agriculture. They can also participate in the Two Bite Club, where they are encouraged to eat two bites of a fruit or vegetable.
Kids in the club can also receive a token to spend on a fruit, vegetable or produce item at one of the vendor booths at the market — that aspect depends on the club gaining enough sponsorship and funding, Pullen said.
The goal is to have the club meet every Saturday in July, but how much or how little the club will do is dependent on funding. Pullen said she will bring more updates on the POP Club as July approaches.
"We're looking forward to it, we've got a lot of fun things planned," Pullen said.
Following Pullen, Cass County Community Foundation President and CEO Deanna Crispen spoke on updates regarding a permanent structure being built for the Farmers Market.
According to Crispen, the market had an opportunity last fall to apply for a planning grant for a local project that was important to the community. With this grant, the organization has discussed creating a permanent structure for the market, which would include restrooms, running water, electricity and a commercial kitchen.
It is a few days out from submitting the application, but if approved, it could receive up to $5 million for the project, Crispen said.
"It would be a game changer for downtown Logansport. Several of us, Krista and Emily [Klabunde], have traveled in the last month to farmers markets in Michigan and northern Indiana to see how they operate, how they're funded, what their structure looks like, and we have learned a lot," Crispen said. "And so, we're very excited about this possibility and what it would do not only for you folks but for our whole community to use that space when the Farmers Market's not there."
Later in the meeting, schedule changes were announced for this season's market. Based on feedback from vendors, this year's market will open May 4 instead of in early June like previous years.
The hours for the market this year will be from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. Co-market master Emily Klabunde said changing the closing time from 1 p.m. to noon was chosen due to multiple vendors leaving early in prior seasons.
Hours for the Wednesday Farmers Market, which runs from July to September, were also changed to 3:30-5:30 p.m. Klabunde said this time change was because of lower attendance and less vendors coming on Wednesdays. However, if more vendors attend and set up, Klabunde said they can expand into other months to a full market.
"We can expand anything if we have more vendors, more turnout," Klabunde said.
