Acorn thanks the Manchester community

Acorn Farmers’ Market and Cafe will be coming to Manchester later this year.

Many small things are adding up to some pretty big doings at the Acorn Farmers Market and Café!

On Friday, a small “thank you” to from the Acorn board to donors, the community, vendors, volunteers, and customers at the Winter Farmers Market appeared in several venues on social media.

“2019 was an incredible year. With your help, we have been able to accomplish more than we believed could be possible in such a short time.

“Your support allowed us to lease our current location on Main Street, which made us eligible for grants that required a physical location, and helped us open the Winter Market. We were able to submit many grant applications including (but not limited to) the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Foundation; apply for and receive 501(c)3 status; commission site plans and drawings for the store, and begin the approval process with the village; purchase a freezer, cooler, Point of Sale system and accounting software (and plans to purchase other equipment in the future). We also began updating our building to start our part-time winter market. Lots more to do, but lots accomplished.

“As we welcome a new year, we would like to thank you for making our first year not only possible, but also so successful. It’s a great start to what we hope will be a long-standing, year-round market, and a true asset to our community.”

In addition to the major benefits of the “seedlings” that started this venture–in particular, bringing fresh, local food to the Manchester community since it has lost its supermarket, board member Theresa Herron mentioned that there are numerous “side benefits” that have started accumulating while making the transition from Farmers Market to an actual storefront.

“We’ve been able to give potential vendors guidance on how to become approved to sell by Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) once we become a store,” she said. “We were also able to provide a place for CRC Food Pantry customers to get emergency food and supplies over the holidays.”

The Executive Board will be presenting its site plan for approval at tonight’s Village Council meeting, which takes place at 7 pm in the Council chambers on the lower level at 912 City Road. The plan has already passed through the Planning Commission and this is the next step in order to make the Acorn Farmers Market and Café a reality. Future steps will include getting pricing from contractors, determining the amount of fundraising needed, and eventually establishing a fund-raising site through Patronicity, which allows 60 days to obtain matching funds for a grant of up to $50,000. As each step falls into place, the next steps can be determined.

One newly-formed idea at Acorn is a bag sharing initiative. Herron describes it as follows:

“You’ve probably heard of ‘bike share’ programs–but what about Bag Share? Using cloth shopping bags is an easy way to cut down on waste, helping us carry things we buy without using one more plastic bag. Many of us have accumulated dozens of reusable bags over the years. If you have surplus bags you’d be willing to part with, please consider bringing them in to Acorn for our bag loaner program. Brought your own bag? Great! Forgot it this time? Take one from the crate. Bring it back, if you like, but we won’t keep track.”

Herron added that fellow board member Ruth VanBogelen, who volunteers at the Winter Farmers Market most days that it is open, has suggested that each board member should be in the store at some point while it’s open, “if only to hear how appreciative community members have been!”

Community reaction to the store, which started as a small, grass-roots effort, has been gratifying. If you haven’t yet stopped in at a Winter Farmers Market, this is a great time to do it. You’ll be surprised by the amount of foods available, the quality, and the pricing. Winter Farmers Market hours are 3-7 pm each Thursday and Friday, and 9 am-1 pm each Saturday.

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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.