NORWICH –The Farmers’ Market in the City of Norwich (NFM) is one of the oldest in New York State setting up two days a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays) in East Park since the 1930’s. It will continue to serve the community and local producers both days again this year.
Wednesdays have been year-round for the last three years, and currently the Market is held within Howard Johnson’s ballroom during the winter months. Organizers indicate that the Market will move back to its usual perch in East Park in the onth of May.
The Saturday market will begin on June 4 and run through the month of November. Wednesday hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. which allows people to shop after work. Saturday hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The different hours chosen for the two days were based on market research and vendor input.
The board of directors for the nonprofit organization which administers the markets has created a sliding scale for membership with the lowest fees for produce vendors and farmers. Fees are used to pay the costs of running a market – insurance, electricity, signage, SNAP/EBT program, and marketing. Since the market itself is not in the business to make money, as soon as the costs are covered, the fees go down for vendors.
Market organizers say for the 2016 season, there will be many more options for vendor participation than in the past. Vendors do not have to be present for the full market hours, but are asked to choose a block of time during which they will commit to be present. This is for advertising purposes and for developing customer trust. Membership can be one or both days, seasonal or year round. They can choose to be present in their own booth or sell their products at the multi-vendor table on commission. Vendors can also choose to rent space by the day.
NFM will continue the FMNP, SrFMNP, and SNAP/EBT programs, and is currently the only market in the county which offers all three. The board invites the other county markets to consider running these programs and can assist with the process.
