submitted by Kenny Frost, Acorn Farmers' Market & Café

Greetings Acorn Shoppers,

We thank you for your patronage on our last indoor market day at 327 W. Main Street. We are grateful to Rhonda for her flexibility in letting us rent month-to-month and congratulate her on selling her building in this rough market! It was crucial for our momentum to be able to carry brick-and-mortar operations all the way through April.

Speaking of brick-and-mortar ... the new Manchester Market is mostly on schedule ... if you haven't followed us on Instagram or Facebook now might be a good time to do so as we will mostly be posting updates from there. The Dalenberg crew has been working around the clock to kick-start new store operations and we are grateful to them as well.

As such, the only way that Acorn can operate in any capacity currently is as an outdoor market, which means we are reliant on our vendors to supply goods and labor. It's a big thing to ask, especially during planting season, and especially when workloads are exceeding the labor market. We tried very hard to get people to commit immediately after our temporary closure last month, but the notice was late and the weather was dismal. For a variety of reasons, it just didn’t work out for anyone to attend that original first market day

Well in case you didn't notice, last Thursday, they did.

Out of almost nowhere, Laura Wohlgemuth, manager of the former outdoor farmers' market in Chi-Bro Park and Acorn board member, was able to marshal the resources of no less than eight vendors in front of Manchester Market. We had farm-fresh eggs, baked goods, free seeds from the Manchester Library, lavender, honey, soap, body butter, succulents, perennials, and more all out on display in the gorgeous weather. We thank Laura as she hands the reins over to Patty, Acorn staff member and manager of the Acorn Outdoor Market moving forward. You got this, Patty!

We will update as much as we can, as often as we can, the availability of goods at the Acorn Outdoor Market as soon as we get notice from our vendors in this tricky time. Our plan is to operate every Thursday from 3-7pm as a direct-to-consumer farmers' market in front of the soon-to-open Manchester Market. If we can expand to one more day a week, we will.

It must be said, in case there is any ambiguity, that Acorn Market will not be hosting anything indoors until the new Manchester Market is complete. There is no online ordering, and for that we apologize. For any questions, please feel free to call or text the store phone at 734-649-0890, message us on Facebook, or email store manager Kenny Frost at kenny@acornfarmersmaketcafe.org.

And if you haven't heard, Acorn is hiring! We are accepting applications for the new Manchester Market and will be conducting interviews beginning next week. We are a non-profit entity seeking passionate eco-minded individuals who believe in what we are doing as much as we do. We have an obligation to deliver the market that Manchester has waited so long for, and cannot do so without passion, drive, and a committed staff. Please inquire at the email address posted above.

THANK YOU, MANCHESTER!