Submitted by Sarah Simeziane on Mon, 01/22/2018 – 5:23pm
It feels like only yesterday we were shivering our way through the final weeks of the market season. Braving the cold and rain together to provide October produce to a very encouraging number of late-season shoppers who came out to support their local farmers. Yet here we are, nearly halfway through the off-season, with applications opening up soon and planning for our fourth season underway.Two weeks ago I had the chance to speak at the Illinois Specialty Crops Conference in Springfield about the steady success of our SNAP matching program, but there’s so much more to share that we’re proud of after this critical third season. Outside of our SNAP program success, here are my top three highlights:
- A 40% increase in sales for our local farmers–thank you so much to everyone who came out and shopped (and talked us up, brought friends to the market, and helped us grow!)
- Our vendors donated over $4,500 in much-needed produce to the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen
- This delightfully close-knit, dedicated group of vendors, who made every Tuesday worth it, not just for the food, but also for their support, enthusiasm, and much-appreciated upbeat attitudes, even when the weather made it less-than-pleasant to spend an afternoon outside.
Click to view and download the full-season report. We can’t wait to see you May 15 for another great season! (Farmers: applications open up February 1 on Manage My Market!)
