To all my readers and friends, it has been a very busy spring and summer. So busy that I have had to take the past several months off from blogging and my newsletter. I can't believe that it is already September. I will do my best to catch you up!
2010 can be considered my year of the farmers market! In February 2010, I joined with a group of people in my hometown of Longview, Texas to form the Historic Longview Farmers Market. The first three months were spent developing the board, the board bylaws, the market application and rules and regulations as well as the logo and the website.
Because bringing fresh, local, sustainable food to my hometown community is so very important to me, I took the lead on researching area farmers, contacting them and acquiring them for the market. In just two months we grew from five vendors to 20 vendors that rotate in and out of the market. This is remarkable since these farmers are not wholesalers but are all high quality small independent farmers who truly love to farm and are conscious of how they are growing their crops and making their products.
On Saturday, May 15, 2010, the market opened with a sell out success! Joycelyne Fadojutimi of the East Texas Review and Bob Hallmark of KLTV Channel 7 News both attended to report on the market opening. I would like to thank both of these reporters for doing such a great job of covering the story. To read the East Texas Review article "Eating, Living Well," online click here or download the newspaper pdfs page 1 and page 2. Watch the video of Bob Hallmark's story below. (read full article and view photos and video)
