Open Letter from a Vendor at the Farmer’s Market

Open Letter from a Vendor at the Farmer’s Market

To the Village of Mariemont

I am writing to you to express my concern about the cancellation of the Mariemont Farmers Market.  A farmers market is a wonderful addition to any community. When Leah Geldbaugh decided she wanted to add this to the already charming community of Mariemont, I doubt she knew just how large the task would be. As with any new market, there are bumps along the way. But one thing that is needed is village support. As a vendor, we rely on these markets. It is where we sell our produce and products, gain a regular clientele and make a living.  This is how it works. After the first of the year, we review what markets are out there. Apply to the markets, and then commit to them. That means we plant crops, or make inventory that we hope to sell. We count on these markets. It’s our job. With our commitment to return every Friday to the market, we expect a commitment from the Village in return. Imagine our surprise last Friday, September 6th when we were told that Friday the 13th would be our last day of the market! The market was supposed to run until October 26th! We planned for this, we planted extra crops for this, and we committed to this. What did the Village commit to? We have been left with extra inventory and no place to sell it. The Village of Mariemont has essentially fired us. There is something to remember about farmers markets, just like when you plant a seed, it takes time and attention to grow. The signs that you see around the Village advertising the market, they were paid for by the vendors. We advertised to our customers at other markets that we could be found in Mariemont on Fri. evenings. We showed up, rain or shine, to make the most out of this new market. In return, we show up and are told Mayor Policastro is shutting us down. Why? The market was picking up. We had people waiting for us to set up. That is a great sign for a first year market. We were told that Mrs. Policastro wanted the market moved to Wed . The people we spoke with told us they loved having the market on Friday evenings because they liked the fresh produce for the weekend. Plus, we vendors are already committed to other markets on Wed. Markets that have the commitment from the community to do what it takes to make the market successful. There are few markets on a Friday evening, with the right advertising, help from council, and support from the community this market could have become a destination. I hope that the Village of Mariemont can make a decision to hold a market and support it. In the meantime, you can find most of the vendors at the Maderia Farmers Market on Thursday evenings or the Anderson Twp. Farmers Market (voted best of the East) on Sat. mornings.

 

Sincerely,

Kim Lautman

Pet Passions & Fashions

Comments

  1. It is a real shame that we fell through on our commitment to these wonderful farmers. I think having the Farmer’s Market was great. I think it would be great to have it at our beautiful Village Concourse or the Green area by the pool, I’m just not sure if it would get as much traffic.

    I am sorry, Kim. I hope we can justify this.
    Donna

  2. I was shocked when I heard the farmers market was cancelled early. I assumed at first there was not enough business for the vendors so THEY were needing to look elsewhere. When I read the vendor stury I became embarrassed for our community.

    I did lots of food co op organizing and natural foods public promotion ears ago and I have enjoyed and been fulfilled supporting the local advocates of slow food and organic growers, so I was proud when Mariemont made the decision to host a farmers market.

    I also want to know how Mariemont thought you can just move a farmers market day when the rest of the region has already fixed available dates, that seems illogical as well as unaware and insensitive.

    I feel like we need to do a fundraiser to compensate the loyal vendors or at least apologize and reconsider.

    Larry Bourgeois
    Mariemont resident 20+ years

  3. Was Leah prepared for the work the market would take, no. But she trudged along. Was she prepared for the gossiping of vendors, no. Though she handled it with elegance. Did Leah know that there would be little to no backing from the local businesses, again no. Like you said, “As with any new market, there are bumps along the way.” Your letter however, doesn’t allow for much grace. Perhaps the scheduling wasn’t thought through completely. The length of the original contract, upon a second look, now doesn’t fit the needs of the community. Another point to address, “one thing that is needed is village support.” I agree, however this doesn’t mean that it falls on the shoulders of the mayor or his wife. Where are the businesses, and the residents? That’s where your support comes from. It’s awful when residents say and post negative comments publicly in an attempt to rally others against the market, let alone any other community project/event or business. We should all be supportive of one another, focusing on the positive, and asking ourselves what we can do to help. That is the only way we as a community will thrive.

  4. I am not cognizant of the mayors reasoning, but I can’t fathom why the market could not at least be allowed to finish the season? I would like to hear from that side of the coin.

  5. It’s a shame that once again, due to the mayor’s lack of thinking something through, there’s bickering in the village. There definitely were bumps in the process – but come on people, it was the first season. Did anyone really expect that it would be as well visited as the well established markets in the area?

    I have to say, I’m appalled by this comment by a previous poster: “The length of the original contract, upon a second look, now doesn’t fit the needs of the community.” Contract is the operative word here. If the village truly had a contract – written or verbal – to have the market open until sometime in October, then shame on them for breaking it. Something like this can ruin a reputation and make other groups/organizations wary of doing anything with the village.

    Wouldn’t a better solution have been to not hold the market on the one Friday that the school needs the parking lot and then resume for the rest of the season? Or better yet, move it up to the concourse for one day?

    Sad and disheartening….

  6. Forgot to include this in regards to what the vendors could do to improve the market. Be there and set up on time. The market was advertised 4-7. I was there a few times at 4:15/4:30 and vendors were just arriving or just setting up and not ready for sales. I understand things happen and you can run behind schedule, but when it’s more than occasionally, it’s an issue.

    Thank you,

    Marie

    • Marie,
      I couldn’t agree more that it is the vendors jobs to show up on time. That was one of the things Leah was doing her best to get people there on time. After school started, the market needed to be moved to 4:30 because of the parking situation. The sign had already been printed with the 4-7. One of those bumps I was referring to. It is definitely a two way street, vendors and the community.
      Take care,
      Kim Lautman

  7. First off, pet passions and fashions doesn’t sound like a farm, a farmer, or anything that is selling produce. It sounds like company where someone is mad that they can’t sell their overpriced home craft goods/e-commerce site in mariemont when there are brick and mortar that adds a larger benefit to our community.

    Second, typically these markets are way over priced, have a large carbon footprint and are highly inefficient in the market of delivering high quality food or goods to the local population.

    Third, in Mariemont we have the lower 80 that if managed by our residents correctly could grow a lot of the Village’s local produce requirements.

    Shame on you Kim Lautman!

    • Dear Farm Yourself,
      Please let me clarify something. I do grow some of my ingredients for my products, and they are made by me. I am what is called a cottage vendor. Not a farmer. I think that the idea of farming Mariemonts lower 80 is an excellent idea. I hope that you can make that happen.
      Take care,
      Kim Lautman

  8. Any weekday farmer’s market will generally only serve the needs of that specific community and maybe those who travel through it on their way home from work. That is a pretty narrow population that is further whittled down by people leaving town for travel on Fridays or who just have plans to go out after work. So it is a small group that a Friday market appeals to, so I agree that changing the day would be helpful.

    I went exactly twice. In the beginning there was no produce and no indication that produce would be forthcoming, we can only eat so much bread and honey. Then Leah told me that there was produce and to try again. We did and got some delicious corn and tomatos but when we went at 4:30 there were only two produce stands and many vendors had not shown or were just arriving. I think having it on Fridays makes it MORE important that the vendors show up on time if people want to grab something before hitting the road.

    Additionally as someone who recently moved here but is a very old hand at Boston farmer’s markets and CSAs I can say that the prices of the tomatos and corn and bread and hummus (yes yes artisinal and homemade) were over the top. So while I would usually buy more than 20lbs of local heirloom tomatos in a market season (at $2.50 a pound) I could not bring myself to do that at the $5 a pound those vendors were charging. So I ended up writing the market off and going to Findley and buying from local growers there. Next year I will just go back to having a CSA share. I would participate in Mariemont CSA coop drop off point if anyone has one going.

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