Farmers market organizers prepare for 2021 season

After a toned-down year in 2020, the Sandpoint Farmers Market is coming back with gusto in 2021.

Starting May 1, the market will be open with regular hours Wednesday 3-5:30 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Farmin Park.

Kelli Burt, market manager, said the market is seeing the return of many regular vendors who didn’t attend in 2020.

There’s also been interest from new vendors unlike any she’s seen before, she said. As of Tuesday, the board had 60 applications, she said. Usually, applications wouldn’t have even been open yet.

“I’ve never seen so many applications come through, and they're all very high-quality applicants,” Burt said. “That's got us all very excited about it.”

The market accepts a variety of applicants within a 100-mile radius to ensure the market keeps business local. The board aims to have a wide variety of vendors include craftspeople, food vendors and produce.

Board Director and market vendor Emily Levine has been involved at the market since 2007, she said, and started selling on her own through her company, Red Wheelbarrow Produce, the year after.

“I actually came at farming from the perspective that I got really interested in college about food systems,” she said. “I decided to work on a farm for a summer just to learn. I sort of thought that I could work on a farm for a summer and come out of it knowing where our food comes from and then it turned out that I really liked the process. You actually can't learn about it in a summer, it takes an entire lifetime”

The farmers market has grown and increased in quality over the years as more growers came to the area and developed a community to learn from each other, Levine said. After starting with a “tiny” stand during peak season, Levine said her own stand has grown with the rest of the market.

“I’m still proud of that, but it's definitely evolved over the years,” she said.

Last year, the market downsized. New vendors weren’t accepted and several regular vendors didn’t come. The market’s board also canceled the live music that appears most years, Levine said.

In 2019, the market had 88 vendors in total, Burt said, with around 60 at a time on a busy Saturday. In 2020, the number of total vendors dropped to 30.

In addition, the first couple of months last year saw the market at a different location. One challenge in organizing for 2020 was balancing a wide range of opinions about how to proceed during COVID times from vendors, board members and shoppers.

Ultimately, the organization agreed on a small-scale market, with fewer attractions to keep guests lingering. On an ordinary year, visitors would often stay, listen to music and socialize, she said. In 2020 the market was designed to discourage too much unnecessary contact.

“The market has always had such a fun, festive feel to it. And I would say last year, it didn't have that. Which was fine, because that wasn't necessarily what we were going for last year,” she said. “But it was, you know, just such a fun event.”

2021 will still be different from the pre-pandemic time, Levine said, but the market is slowly returning to its livelier self.

The Wednesday market will once again have music, Burt said, and the board has applied for a grant with the hopes of funding Saturday music as well.

In addition, for the first time ever the market is accepting community donations through its website that will go toward programs like the Saturday music series.

“It's kind of our first time ever asking for a lending hand from the community,” Burt said. “It was a big decision for us to make that call.”

One major change implemented last year, and continuing into 2021 are rules around handling produce, Levine said. While before customers could pick out their own bags and flag down vendors to pay, now vendors fill bags for customers.

“I think it's a pretty big challenge now to try to figure out how to manage the booth, and still move a lot of people through and keep that safety element there,” she said.

One of the programs she’s most excited for this year, Burt said, is the market’s double-up food program. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (commonly known as food stamps) have been accepted at the market for years. But now, through work with the Idaho Farmers Market Association, SNAP credit is matched up to $10.

SNAP recipients can go to the manager’s office, Burt said, and redeem their SNAP credit for tokens to be spent at the market. $10 worth of tokens becomes $20.

“It just [means] families are able to supplement their food a little bit more heavily at the farmers market, and also keep that money in local and local hands as well,” she said. “So we've seen a huge increase in customers in the last couple of years. And it's one of our favorite programs that we've kept going, and that we really want to just keep promoting and let people know.”

Applications for vendors are due April 11, and samples are due April 12. More information can be found at sandpointfarmersmarket.com.