Acorn Farmers’ Market and Cafe – An update on starting a non-profit fresh food store

Submitted by the Acorn Farmers’ Market & Cafe board

Acorn Farmers’ Market & Café is an official non-profit business in the state of Michigan! The next step is to become a non-profit organization according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS Form 1023 has been assembled (28+ pages) and is almost ready to submit.

The goal is for Acorn to qualify as a public charity with a 501c3 status. As a 501(c)3 organization, donations made to Acorn will be tax-deductible for business and individuals plus this status enables Acorn to qualify for some grants. Typically, the review process by the IRS takes several months for approval; thus, this step is holding up some other aspects of the process. Acorn is well suited to be a non-profit food store as it will help the community and residents in many ways.

A building in the Village limits has been leased and tentative plans for some remodeling and acquisition of equipment are in progress to make the space perfect for a food store. However, the prepping the building requires funding, so the next steps have to wait a while.

At this time the opening date is uncertain since so many factors are beyond the control of the volunteer organizers. A stretch goal is to open in November after the close of the farmers’ market season. Alternately, ideas are developing to plan events over the winter months, like a winter market that would be open more like a summer market, for a few hours each week, or maybe cooking or education events.

A fund-raising committee is putting together a plan and putting systems in place that allow Acorn to receive donations and grants. When these plans and processes are in place, there will be another update in The Manchester Mirror. Other progress is being made: 1) preparing grant applications, 2) writing a business plan, 3) outlining a marketing plan, 4) prepping a website and social media pages, 5) searching for producers who will be interested in stocking the shelves when Acorn opens, and 6) coming soon, a weekly fun information column will be in the Mirror.

For now, watch for updates in The Manchester Mirror and at the Manchester Farmers Market (ask for an Acorn Farmers’ Market & Café flyer). In a couple weeks there will be surveys at the Farmers market asking Acorn’s potential customers about what hours to be open and to receive customer input.

We’re also looking to expand our team! It would be wonderful to have more people involved in this project in order to spread tasks more evenly and widely throughout the community. If you have an interest, or a skill/area of expertise you’d like to provide (though it’s not required), please let us know! We are also looking for donations to help cover many of our startup expenses, including the large fee for filing for tax-exempt status. To help, contact us at Acornfarmersmarket@gmail.com.

The Acorn Farmers’ Market and Cafe board currently consists of five local residents: Megan DeLeeuw, Ruth VanBogelen, Theresa Herron, Linda Knox, and Linda Davis. Contact them at acornfarmersmarket@gmail.com.

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.