Norwich Farmers Market offers free memberships to farmers and veterans

It is now possible for Norwich Farmers Market to offer free memberships to local farmers who wish to sell their own farm-produced commodities and free memberships to veterans to sell their home produced products or promote their entrepreneurial businesses at the Wednesday farmers market in Norwich. This is possible through a grant recently received from the Agricultural Development Council of Chenango County.

NFM’s first day in the park (rain, shine, or s–w) will be Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Anyone wishing to join the market may obtain an application form and by-laws through e-mail by contacting norwichfarmersmarket@frontier.com or through USPS mail by calling 607-334-4928.

NFM is the only market left in Chenango County which offers all of the ag programs designed for farmers markets in New York State – FMNP-WIC, FMNP-SR, WIC V&F, SNAP/EBT, Health Bucks and FreshConnect. In addition, it offers its members credit card services and training in all federal, state, and local programs, regulations and laws for open-air markets.

This market started in the 1930s as a two-day public market (Wednesdays and Saturdays) administered by the city of Norwich. This two-day market was turned over by the city to two separate nonprofit organizations in 2014. Norwich BID officially closed the Saturday portion of the 80-plus-year-old farmers market at the end of season 2015. By 2016 there were only two Saturday markets left where Chenango County recipients of some of these agriculture programs could redeem their coupons, checks and benefits. They were across the county line in Sidney (for residents living in the eastern part of the county) and in Cincinnatus on the west.

There is a special event being planned later in May to give the community valuable information regarding all the ag programs offered to farmers and farmers markets and to promote all Chenango County agriculture – individual farm businesses and all seven county farmers markets. Nutrition and health information will also be a feature in this “Welcome Spring” event on the last Wednesday of May. Details will be published soon.

By martha

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