It’s midwinter and we’re trudging through the deep freeze here in Vermont, making plans for the upcoming year and dreaming of spring.  Winter is a great time for quiet preparation; board meetings, conferences, new project ideas– lots of planning is going on right now.  The Vermont Farm to Plate initiative just released its 10-year plan for continued growth of our regional agricultural economy, and farmers’ markets play a large role in strengthening our farmers’ economic position.

Our farmers’ market Board of Directors meets once a month, and is working on such items of interest as creating our market’s by-laws, bringing 3 Squares Vermont/ SNAP benefits to our market, and writing the budget for this market season.  We are slated to reopen in May, on Mothers’ Day (the 8th), and run through October (likely until Columbus Day weekend).  We have just received confirmation through Transition Putney that another lease has been approved for the market and Putney Community Gardens to continue land use on the property across from the co-op.  This is fabulous news, and we’re so grateful to the Gateway Association for making it possible.  It’s important to our town that these projects continue to thrive.

Applications for the 2011 market season will be released soon, via this website.  If you are interested to know when that happens, you can subscribe to this site via email, and receive instant updates when they happen.  The deadline to apply will be sometime in March, the exact date will be printed on the app.

We’re looking forward to a successful first full market season.  Enjoy these photos from the 12/19/10 holiday market, and check back soon for videos from the same!

For those of you who made it to our first Winter Farmers’ Market at Green Mountain Orchards on Sunday, Thank You!  These photos were taken late in the day, just as some of our vendors were selling out, and while they offer a glimpse of this wonderful market, they do it no justice really.  Lots of people showed up to shop and support our amazing vendors and producers.  Folks bought turkeys for their Thanksgiving tables, armloads of produce, baked goods to take home and share, and of course gifts for themselves and loved ones!  There was amazing live music by Tom, Patty and the Paine Brothers, and lots of dancing went on in the common space between the booths.

Our many thanks to the wonderful Darrow family at Green Mountain Orchards– they have been so supportive and easy to work with, and we can only hope that our association with them will continue to grow as the market does itself.

And don’t forget!  If you missed this market, you still have one more chance to buy something really special this holiday season, when we do it all again on Sunday, December 19th from 11 to 2.  Thanks to our wonderful vendors, and the community of Transition Town Putney for making this happen!