Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Riverview Farmers’ Market was busy and productive, with many member vendors and a reliable customer base.  Like many other community endeavors and small businesses, however, the pandemic brought the success of the market to a grinding halt, with only one or two vendors at best showing up on a given weekend to keep the market alive.   When I began my work in Carrollton, I heard again and again from community members that reviving the farmers’ market ought to be one of my priorities as an agent.  With the help of the market president, the Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service arranged a meeting for interested vendors in March and had 16 people in attendance, many of whom were completely new to the market.   5 booths were set up for the opening day, including craft vendors; produce vendors; meat vendors; representatives from General Butler State Park; and an Extension booth with SNAP-Ed recipes, garden calendars, and more.

Since that opening day, the Saturday market has seen many successes: we have an abundance of produce for sale, we have a consistent base of at least four vendors, and new signs advertising the market were purchased using grant money available through the Three Rivers Health Department.  We have, however, encountered just as many challenges.  While vendors have—on average—been satisfied by their sales, a stronger, more consistent customer base would help to make selling at the market a more worthwhile endeavor.  Fortunately, a new collaboration with the Two Rivers Restaurant at General Butler State Resort Park may help to provide a fruitful market for vendors.  Perhaps the greatest challenge, though, is satisfying customer demand for warm-weather crops such as tomatoes, beans, and corn.   To a degree, there is little that can be done to meet that demand in May and early June, but helping our growers access funding for season extension practices such as high tunnels and greenhouses could help in this regard.  Additionally, greater sampling efforts would help give customers who come for those warm-weather crops ideas for how they could use the crops that are available early in the season.

A beautiful May morning at
the Farmers' Market.

All things considered, the effort to revive the Riverview Farmers’ Market has been a success, but there is still much that can be done to ensure that that success is sustained.  The financial and educational concerns mentioned previously are good first steps, and the collaboration with the Three Rivers Restaurant is an exciting prospect.  We have also considered the possibility of constructing a permanent market pavilion that could be used to help promote visibility and create a more inviting market atmosphere.  The Carroll County Extension Office’s collaboration with the Riverview Farmers’ Market has been fruitful, and it is exciting to think where that collaboration may go in the future.