NORWICH – After months of debate and confusion about who should manage a Norwich farmers’ market and when, Chenango County officials have permitted a nonprofit group to continue operation of a market in East Park on Wednesdays throughout the summer, keeping the longstanding summer tradition of having a twice-weekly downtown market.

The Chenango County Agriculture, Buildings and Grounds Committee last week approved a request from Vital Vittles, Inc., a nonprofit organization that manages a winter, spring and autumn market in Norwich, to continue overseeing a market on Wednesdays during the summer.

Despite the city’s longstanding tradition of two markets per week during summer months, Vital Vittles fought to keep that tradition this year after county officials put the Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) in charge of the downtown market. Having received $5,000 from the county and a $10,000 state grant for adminstration and advertisement of its newly created “Bullthistle Farmers’ Market,” the BID announced earlier this year that it would operate the market only on Saturday’s throughout the summer, citing reasons that a one market per week model would potentially create a strong downtown market as opposed to two lesser markets.

But changing the market to a one day per week model was a disservice to some local vendors and customers who couldn’t attend Saturday’s market, argued Vital Vittles; so the group made their case before county officials to administer a Wednesday market. The end result was two separate markets: the Bullthistle Market overseen by the BID on Saturdays, and Vital Vittles’ Norwich Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays.

“Each market has a different focus,” explained Vital Vittles Market President Drew Piaschyk. “BID is doing some exciting things on Saturdays which bring people into the park for a variety of activities. Vital Vittles, Inc. is a not for profit community-based organization with a focus on food education. It is in the beginning stages of a ‘Future Growers of Chenango’ project to bring young people into the various Chenango County markets to sell their farm products and is considering two other projects in the near future.”

Piaschyk added that both markets are continuing the established programs Farmers’ Market Nutritional Program for WIC and Seniors (FMNP), WIC Fruit & Vegetable, Health Bucks, and EBT/SNAP and the new program FreshConnect.

Guilford Supervisor George Seneck, chair of the Chenango Ag, Buildings and Grounds Committee, said the committee’s decision to allow another market in the county-owned East Park is one that will be revisited later this year, after both markets finish their season.