News release from the Fort Wayne Farmer’s Market:
Ft. Wayne Farmers Market Grand Opening
(September 25, 2012) – A group of local market enthusiasts and vendors have come together in a grassroots effort to create an indoor farmers market starting October 6, 2012 at 9 AM at Parkview Field’s Lincoln Financial Event Center. The market will run on the first Saturday of each month from October 2012 through May 2013. Over 25 local farm, food, artisans and crafts vendors will fill the Lincoln Financial Event Center with local produce, baked goods, with food and non-food products for sale. Vendors will be carefully chosen and selected to provide an optimum market experience. In the coming months, entertainment, educational topics and cooking demonstrations by Parkview Field’s chef will also be featured.
Leigh Rowan of Big Brick House Bakery and Lora Schnurr of Aunt Lora’s Caramels are vendors who sell their products at several local farmers markets. They began discussing the idea of an indoor farmers market after hearing from their customers that the need for fresh local produce and products was great all year long. Rowan and Schnurr, in addition to many other vendors, needed a way to sell their products all year long to keep their businesses going and respond to their customers’ needs. All of these factors culminated in the creation of the Ft. Wayne’s Farmers Market. This farmers market was born to help foster entrepreneurship among local vendors and build the attitude of “Buy Local, Buy Fresh” in Fort Wayne consumers.
One of the goals of the Ft. Wayne Farmers Market is to build and use top of the mind awareness in all consumers for goods offered at the market, to be attentive to consumer needs and suggestions, to educate consumers about healthy eating, raise consumer awareness, provide a destination point for the people of Fort Wayne and to draw visitors of the city downtown.Short-term goals are to expand from a once a month activity to a Wednesday lunch market downtown June through September and expand the number of weeks the market would be open during the fall and winter months in 2013. Long-term goals are to find a permanent, indoor, year-round location by working with the Public Markets Committee headed by Michael Barranda and Alan Grinsfelder who have been meeting for the last few years.
Supporting organizations include: Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, Urban Enterprise Association, Founders, Northeast Indiana Sustainable Business Council, Visit Fort Wayne, Parkview Field, Pint and Slice Liberating Insight, Signs and Wonders, Specialized Printed products and the Downtown Improvement District.
For further information, please visit the Ft. Wayne’s Farmers Market Facebook page at or their website at https://www.ftwaynesfarmersmarket.com/.
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