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Midtown Farmers Market

Articles featuring the Midtown Farmers Market.

 

News and Updates from the MFM
  • You're Summoned!
  •   The Midtown Market is an essential service, and will be operating for the full season in 2020 with extra precautions in place. WHAT TO BRING BYO mask. No seriously, please wear a mask. If you bring your own bag, make sure you are the only person who touches it. All Producers accept: Cash, EBT/SNAP tokens available at Market Info tent Some Producers accept: Debit/Credit cards, Debit/Credit tokens (are no longer available at Market Info tent) if you still have some use them, Market Buck coupons for fresh fruits and vegetables only, E-payments.   ONLINE ORDERING If you want fresh and local food but don’t want to handle cash or be onsite for long, you can make an online order and just come to the market to make some quick pick ups from your favorite vendors.  We will announce who is accepting online orders in the days before the market on social media and our newsletter.  You can make an online order up through the day before the market so as to allow vendors to process the orders.   ONSITE LOGISTICS   There will be one entrance/exit on the Minnehaha Ave side of the market, next to the Hub Bicycle Co-op. This will allow us to limit the number of people who are allowed in the market at any given time so that we can all spread out and socially distance ourselves   Please queue southwards along Minnehaha Ave trying to stay roughly 6 ft apart from the nearest person. If possible, please only have one person per household come to the market at a time. There will be a handwashing station available to you as soon as you walk in. We recommend you use it. Do not consume food onsite. We will have prepared hot food vendors and we ask that if you make a purchase from them, you wait to eat it until you’re out of the market. All pedestrian traffic within the market will flow in one direction so people are less likely to have to get close to each other. The loop will pass by each vendor stall.  Please do not linger. We ask that you collect what you want and need and then exit as soon as possible. We know this sounds harsh, but with limited access to the market, we need people to get in and out as fast as possible.   Thank you for working with us to ensure maximum safety for our 2020 season. Hopefully in 2021 we will be back with live music, theme days, picnic tables, and fun for the whole family. But for this year, we must all work together to limit the spread of COVID-19.

  • The 2019 Midtown Farmers’ Market wrapped up its season on Tuesday, October 29. The weather proved, a crisp fall morning and early afternoon to get the last root vegetables, squash and lettuces before our normal winter cold snap takes over. “The end of the market this season is bittersweet, and we all eat so much better throughout the season thanks to our fellow producers,” Mary Smith explained. But I hope all the farmers feel so accomplished: We made it through another year and all the hurdles. Farming is hard, and it will be nice to take a break and sleep in. We’ll see you in 2020, with more goodies from the gardens and coverage of our great neighborhood farmers’ market, along with the farmers who make it so awesome.

  • There are several ways to volunteer with the CNO, either with one of our committees, serve on the board, help around the office. Run a community event. Volunteer with Market set up and take down. If you have questions, please contact Alicia the Executive Director

  • The rumors are true! The Midtown Farmers Market is moving to Moon Palace Books at 3032 Minnehaha Ave S, just blocks away from its original stomping grounds at the intersection of E Lake St and Hiawatha Ave.

  • There’s still plenty of snow on the ground but Jenna the new Midtown Farmers Market Manager, Kate the assistant manager, the MFM committee & the CNO is already working hard to put together the 2019 season. Here is just a preview of the events planned for the year already. Don’t for get to check here, the MFM site or their facebook page for more updates. 4/14 Market Move-In Day 10am-2pm @ Moon Palace Books VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! (Click here for more information on this event) 5/4 Opening Day 5/11 Urban Agriculture Day 6/1 Bee + Pollinator Day 6/8 Youth Leadership/Poetry Day 6/27 Plaza Oversight Group Meeting 7:30am @ CNO Offices 7/21 Open Streets Lake/Minnehaha 7/27 Bike Day 10/26 Halloween + Oktoberfest Also don’t forget the MFM will be moving for the 2019-20 seasons, while construction on the new permanent market plaza is progressing.

  • Market Updates Development Internally, we are revamping how we organize and track the market’s financials. We plan to work with Robert (accountant) to better align incoming monies and expense categories.  On the grant front, we were not awarded the MRAC grant and will be meeting with their director on 2/22 to discuss why and how we can do better next season. We did get the B-tap grant, which will help us provide more comprehensive training program and resource sharing with the TryIt! Program. This is executed and managed by the CNO Economic Development Committee. We are waiting to hear from the Good Food Access Grant (MN Dept. of Agriculture), which would fund Moon Palace site renovations; the Allina Health Grant, which would fund the YWCA Zumba program for Tuesday market days; a Wells Fargo grant, which would fund site renovations; the Carolyn Foundation, which would fund arts and cultural programming; and the Hub, which would fund a bike rewards punch card program; and we are submitting a Great Streets BDS Grant next week (due 2/28). Sponsorships are slowly happening (six small commitments so far).    Marketing / Merch T-shirts and bags will be ready for pick up by March 1st from Tee Squared! Waiting for a quote from Griffith Printing for posters, yard signs, flyers, stickers (ideally ready by March 1st).   Vendor Applications We have about 35 applications in right now. Mark your calendars for the spring vendor meeting on Saturday, April 6th 9 – 11am. looking for prepared food vendors – (Jam, cheese, etc)   Market Site Renovations (electrical installation, paving) are grant-pending with the Good Food Access Grant, Wells Fargo Grant, and the Great Streets BDS Grant. Jamie at Moon Palace has plans to complete these projects in April regardless, and expects the projects will only take a week or so to complete. Move-in day will happen on a weekend day prior to Opening Day (ideally two weeks beforehand), we will share the date and time when confirmed. Will connect with Boker’s Inc. again to inquire about using their lot for parking.   Special Themed Market Days – Calendar (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) Mark your calendars and sign up to help!   __ Opening Day 5/4  __ Urban Agriculture Day 5/11  __ Bee + Pollinator Day 6/1  __ Youth Leadership/Poetry 6/8  __ Bike Day 7/27  __ Indigenous People’s Day 10/12 – *Trying to integrate throughout year, not just one day __ Halloween + Oktoberfest 10/26   Market Programming Market Stage, Community Tables Market Science and Master Gardeners have both signed up for the whole year!  Less room than before, we’ll have to think about this… Kate is reaching out to orgs that are on theme for special event days. Musician and performer apps are rolling in Kate met with Nona who books music for Moon Palace and got several new names and contact info for DJs and performers. Hoping to get more student performances this year, and will work on collaborating on story times with Moon Palace. Other YWCA Zumba on Tuesdays 5:30-6:30pm – May 28th-August 27th – Allina Health grant / Great Streets grant would help fund this. Cooking Demonstrations with Open Arms of MN – handful of times throughout the season, TBD Cooking Matters market tours – handful of times throughout the season, TBD Bicycle Rewards Program with the Hub – punch card system, pending the Hub grant proposal Senior Living / Adult Day Centers – possibility of coordinating transportation on Tuesdays, pending Great Streets grant   Volunteers Moon Palace has a signup sheet at the front desk, volunteer asks are out on neighborhood organizations’ websites, social media platforms, etc. Sophia has flyered a bunch in the South Minneapolis area. Flyers may be working! Got an inquiry from someone who saw them at the library. Sophia has helped to start a volunteer “manual” and written orientation to send out before folks show up day of. Will ramp up advertising volunteering in the coming weeks.   Subcommittees or Projects Communications and PR *Riverview Theatre AD – it’s live! *Wayfinding signs – we need project help! *Radio / Newspaper stories – working with Gerry; the Farmers Markets of Minneapolis will have some collective PR efforts throughout the season Partnerships and Outreach *Flyering – we need project help! *Tabling – we need project help! *Cultural / Arts partnerships – we need project help!  Development and Grant Writing – we need project help!   Du Nord Fundraiser Monday March 4th 5-10pm Activities Info Table with new merchandise, signup sheets, donation bucket, etc. Trivia 7-8pm (thank you, Claire!) Meat raffle at 9pm Dead Media will play throughout the event Donations of meat from Herbivorous Butcher and Sheepy Hollow and possibly Seward Coop Catering from Vittles Roles Set Up will be at 4:30pm (Kate and Jenna) Info Table 5-7pm, 7-9pm (2 hour shifts, 2 people each) Raffles 5-7pm, 7-9pm (2 hour shifts, 2 people each) Please share the event on social media, through email, and invite your friends, families and neighbors!   Fundraising Engaging individual, “sustaining” donors will be key to our longevity. Let’s think of strategies to make this happen! Will talk about this at our next meeting.   AC Recruitment 12 magic number (we are at 5 people now)   

  • Are you interested in vending at the market, but a little intimidated by the process? Midtown Farmers Market and Corcoran Neighborhood’s Try It! Program could be for you! The Try It! Program seeks to give small businesses an opportunity to try a farmer’s market experience at the Midtown Farmers Market with limited financial investment. Our goal is to help emerging entrepreneurs explore whether or not becoming a vendor at the Midtown Farmers Market is a good fit for them and their product. We prioritize Twin Cities residents who identify as having low-income, are black, indigenous and/ or people of color, identify as women, trans, femme, or gender non-binary. Since 2003, the Midtown Farmers Market has built a reputation for incubating small businesses, and we strive to ensure that the opportunity to innovate and grow is accessible and beneficial to all community members. Find more information about the MFM try program here!

 

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