The Lawrence Farmers Market will solicit community input on potential permanent downtown locations during a virtual town hall.
The town hall will take place on from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29 via Zoom. The market’s design consultants will present three potential permanent locations with site designs.
Interested community members can join the upcoming town hall via this Zoom link. A full schedule of community engagement events can be found here.
The Farmers Market hosted a similar, in-person town hall on Sept. 11. Since then, on Sept. 16, the city commission approved a budget allocating $175,000 in support of a permanent market location.
The Farmers Market started life 49 years ago as a pop-up event, emerging in city parking lots every Saturday morning. The market has been housed in the 824 New Hampshire St. parking lots since 2008, but partners have been pushing to identify a permanent location to improve the long-term viability of the market.
“Due to ever-increasing pressure from development in Downtown Lawrence, the farmers market has lost visibility, bathroom access, storage access, parking access, and stability for the 75+ vendor members and the thousands of weekly customers,” according to the a page on the farmer’s market website.
Increasing weather volatility also impacts the market’s survival. According to Emily Lysen, the market’s director of development, vendors lose 30% of their customers on a rainy day, and some vendors cancel in advance. Products can also be damaged by weather conditions.
The Farmers Market has identified 10 priorities for its permanent home, including a downtown location; a pavilion; permanent signage; electricity; access to water and drainage; parking for vendors and customers; a community gathering area; restrooms; lighting; and consistent stall sizes.
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