LUDLOW, Vt. – Ludlow Farmers Market (LFM) is preparing to celebrate National Farmers Market Week, Aug. 2-8, kicking off the festivities with its weekly market this Sunday, Aug. 2. The week will be filled with summer market-themed dishes and drinks from Ludlow restaurant partners, raffle prizes from local artists and makers, and brand-new LFM merch. These partnerships will be utilized as a fundraising drive to increase Ludlow Farmers Market’s operations, which will be expanding to a winter farmers’ market hosted at Ludlow Elementary School starting this November.
Part of Ludlow Farmers Market’s fundraising efforts will be supported by local eateries Homestyle Restaurant, Main + Mountain Motel and Bar, and Stemwinder, which have each gathered their creative teams of chefs and bartenders to create food and drink specials that will highlight local summer produce. The specials will be on the menu during each establishment’s opening days next week, with proceeds donated to Ludlow Farmers Market.
Raffle prizes have been donated from a variety of Ludlow Farmers Market’s familiar vendors, including Thrall Road Maple, Russ Hurlburt Photography, Ocreemo, Watson Wheeler Cider, 802 Heat, and more. Raffles will run online throughout the week and will be announced through Ludlow Farmers Market’s social media and newsletters, so no one has to miss out on the festivities.
National Farmers Market Week is supported by the Farmers Market Coalition, a national organization that works to amplify the vital role that farmers markets play in a region’s local food economy. In 2020, of the $2.9 billion in direct-to-consumer sales reported by the USDA, on-farm stores and farmers markets accounted for $1.7 billion (59%). In the two and a half seasons that Ludlow Farmers Market has resided on Depot Street, the market has circulated an estimated $1.5 million in sales throughout our local economy, a number that climbs every week as more folks find a meaningful connection to their vacation visit or weekly grocery run among friends and neighbors.
In addition to platforming small businesses and farmers, Ludlow Farmers Market is proud to facilitate EBT transactions at the market, allowing SNAP recipients to shop with their local growers every week. The Vermont-based food incentive programs, Crop Cash and Crop Cash Plus, also allow the market to distribute bonus coupons to SNAP recipients that can be spent on both fresh produce and staple goods like bread, meat, and eggs. For every dollar of nutrition incentives spent on farm-direct purchases, such as at a farmers market, it is estimated to result in a contribution of up to $3 to the U.S. economy.
More information on National Farmers Market Week and Ludlow Farmers Market’s fundraising partners can be found at www.ludlowmarket.org, or in person at the market on Sunday mornings, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., on Depot Street in downtown Ludlow. Ludlow Farmers Market is grateful for each and every community member who has supported its efforts to make local food more available to the Okemo Valley community.