Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Growing the local economy with locally grown food

An article by Zinta Aistars in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave Media
November 4, 2010

Photo by Erik Holladay


On the last day of the season at Texas Township Farmers Market on 7110 West Q Street, Donna McClurkan, founding force, organizer and heart behind the market, is being tugged and pulled in every direction. Every tug, every pull has not just a dollar sign, but also a heartstring attached to it.


The tuggers and pullers are a mix of farmers market customers and vendors, volunteers and township committee members. Everyone wants to say thank you. Many want to stay in touch over the coming winter months. And every single vendor is making sure McClurkan knows -- they intend to come back next spring.

"We started this market in the fall of 2008 with the target goal of 16 vendors and 400 customers," McClurkan says. "We ended up with 24 vendors, and 1,200 people coming through that first fall." This year the market was at capacity with 60 vendors and an estimated 3,000 customers. A survey going out to vendors this winter will gather actual numbers and dollars made.

The steeply upward trend is no fluke. It's also happening at ...
 
 
READ THE FULL ARTICLE on Second Wave.
 
Learn how spending $10 weekly in your local economy translates into $40 million statewide.
 
Learn about the local food movement and farmers markets in every season.
 
Learn how to eat better and healthier while building up your community.
 
 
 

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