Saturday pg 1 5-19-11
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- Category: Past Issues
Saturday
farmer's
market
added
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- The Holy Grail of farmer's markets --- Saturday --- is now a reality at the Riverview Marketplace Pavilion. Saturday Farmer's Markets start June 18.
The market joins the ever-expanding Monday and Thursday farmer's markets at the pavilion on Kennedy Drive.
The regional farmer’s market, which opened in July 2009, is packed full most Monday and Thursday afternoons during the extended summer months.
Town and farm organization officials have been pursuing adding Saturdays to that successful mix for months..
Putnam’s Community and Economic Development Director Delpha Very had said the town had been working on adding more funding to the plan. “The plan would give northeast Connecticut residents a chance to shop at a Saturday market and a Saturday market is clearly the most productive,” she said. Folks would also be able to use the River Trail, which, last year, was extended from the Medal of Honor (Breault) pedestrian bridge to the market.
A $500 stipend from the Eastern Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development Area for a Saturday farmer’s market is already in place. Funding for a market master are being pursued and hopes are to make the Saturday market self-sustaining as the Monday and Thursday farmer's markets are.
In addition, the federal Department of Agriculture recently awarded the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut a $73,000 grant for a Winter Food Program. The grant would go for specialty crops in Connecticut and focuses on increasing the availability, sales and consumption of locally grown, organic and sustainable fruits, vegetables and herbs in the winter and on educating farmers in the best practices for growing, storing and marketing winter crops. The group plans to educate consumers on the availability of specialty crops during the winter months, too.
Very said many towns in New England have limited indoor farmer’s markets to help farmers and keep patrons interested in local food all year long.