Acorn Farmers Market is re-opening May 7

Submitted by Ruth VanBogelen

On Thursday May 7th the Acorn Farmers Market will reopen selling produce, meat and other food items to make healthy meals. The market will be open Thursdays 3-6 pm, Friday 3-6 pm and Saturday 10 am–4 pm at 327 W. Main Street in Manchester. We’ll add more days and hours probably in July when so much wonderful locally grown food is available.

This market will operate curbside only – no customers will go into the store. Store staff will be using gloves, masks and will be cleaning the store frequently.

Many more details on how to order, what will be available, etc. will be made available a week or two before the market opens, but we are developing plans to make buying food for meals as easy and convenient as possible.

How can I order food?

• Online orders – available 24 hours, seven days a week
• Phone orders – available during market hours but also additional days to be published.
• Walk up orders at 327 W. Main Street during market open hours

What food will be available?

• Locally grown vegetables and fruits, meat, honey, maple syrup, etc.
• Bakery items from commercial bakeries (e.g., Lakehouse Bakery)
• Michigan grown and made products
• Around the world produce – vegetables and fruits grown in the USA and other countries
• Plants – we will be following State of Michigan rules, but expect that vegetable plant starts and flower sales will be allowed by May 7. (Note – on our inventory list, we’ll indicate where the item is coming from.)

How do I get my food order?

• Pick-up times will be arranged with each person during the hours the market is open
• Limited delivery services will be available in special cases

How do I pay for my food order?

• Credit and debit cards
• Checks
• Community Resource Center wooden nickels
• SNAP is being set up and we’ll post when we are set up to accept SNAP cards
• Cash -cash sales will be limited due safety concerns and the difficulty in getting dollars and coins to make change

We are very grateful for everyone who shopped during the winter market! Thank you all!. While we were sad to close for 6 weeks (since March 26), we needed time to get systems in place to offer a wide variety of food items to Manchester residents in an easy and safe method.

And as you may know our goal as a non-profit (501c3 organization) is to convert the market into a store that will be open 70-90 hours a week, with an even better selection of food items plus a café with beverage service and a limited menu. The plan is that Acorn Farmers’ Market & Café will be a local gathering place (once life is back to normal) and a place to learn about how to eat better!

Good progress has been made on fundraising for this conversion. The last stage of fundraising will be a crowdfunding campaign needed to receive a large grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. We’ll be announcing the start of the crowdfunding campaign this summer.

Watch our website for more updates: www.acornfarmersmarketcafe.org. Like us on Facebook also – Acorn Farmers Market & Café and Manchester Michigan Farmers Market.

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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.