Community Corner

Huntley Farmers' Market Ends Successful Season

Market manager evaluates what worked, what didn't and the future of the market.

Huntley Farmers’ Market manager Barb Read has not seen a manual with instructions on how to create a vibrant, vital farmers’ market.

Read, however, has done just that with the own market.

Last weekend marked the end of the market’s fifth season, a season that saw an increase in the number of people attending every weekend. Read estimates about 300 people attended every week, up from the 250 people last year.

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It has grown each year, said Read, who organizes events and manages the market.

There were weeks when attendance reached 350 with regulars and new customers visiting. She started using targeted advertising and finds more people are interested in buying local produce.

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One of the goals behind farmers’ markets is to get people do to their regular shopping at the market, she said. Another goal for Read is to make the Huntley Farmers’ Market a destination every week with events, vendors and entertainment, she said.

Each year, Read tweaks the market. She made a few changes this year to attract new customers.

This year, there were a few changes to attract new customers.

“We pretty much kept the same produce vendors,” Read said. “ Our numbers are not quite high enough to bring in more farmers. We want each one to do well. What we did add this year was more variety of non-produce vendors,” she said.

There were coffee and tea products along with crafts, she said.

Read would like to have a vendor who sells cheese and other types of meat next year.

This season, Read tried a few new ideas like cooking demonstrations by local Chef Denise Gray. A garden salsa competition was popular as were sample days, where things like free corn, were handed out, she said.

What didn’t work as well was the Healthy Huntley Day. Read did not get a big response from local health providers so she will probably not do that day again next year.

Eventually, Read would like to see the Farmers’ Market expand. She’s like to see the market double in size but thinks it will take some time to achieve that goal.

 

 


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