Charles Town Farmers Market's Needs
Donation protected
Charles Town Farmers Market is one of the fastest growing farmers markets in West Virginia and is quickly growing out of it’s infrastructure.
The market is starting it’s fifth season at it’s current location downtown on South Samuel Street. We have grown by leaps and bounds, going from 6-8 vendors at the end of 2011, to 33 on the books for 2016! We average over 660 customers a week, and we were the first market in the area to accept SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps).
The market has used the same tent and the same stands for our banners for five years now (that’s about 150 tent pitchings!) and they are showing their age. The market tent is no longer functional with its leaky holes and the framework has given out. The banner stands, which welcome market customers, no longer move up and down thus one banner has to fly about five feet off the ground, making it an obstacle rather than a welcoming tool. The stands are missing pieces and knobs, and the feet of them have been run over numerous times. They are crooked and tired and need to be retired. As you can see we are in dire need of a facelift in these two areas!
We propose to buy a new, higher quality, 10 X 20 tent to replace our aging tent. The tent covers both the information booth and the musicians. We will keep our old one as a spare, to use for special events in the future. We also plan to purchase two sets of two banner stands so we can proudly display our CTFM banners at either end of the street at a respectable level where they will draw attention. These items are pricey and necessary for every market. Although we do have market funding which comes mainly from vendor dues, CTFM merchandise sales, and a few donations here and there, this is still not enough to keep our market a step above the rest. We like to keep our vendor rates low, to encourage new, small and beginning farmers to apply to the market. The small grants we receive have to be used for specific projects (and those projects do not include capital expenses unfortunately). Our steering committee and market manager are volunteers. We don't have a lot to spare.
We would love to have the funds before June 18th, which is WV Day in downtown Charles Town. Our market will move downtown on that day and there will be many first-time visitors coming through the market. We want to look our best and put our best face forward as we introduce ourselves to some new friends!
We are asking for your donation to help make the market more appealing and to give it a fresh new look! Thank you so much for considering our project!
Sincerely,
Charles Town Farmers Market Committee
The market is starting it’s fifth season at it’s current location downtown on South Samuel Street. We have grown by leaps and bounds, going from 6-8 vendors at the end of 2011, to 33 on the books for 2016! We average over 660 customers a week, and we were the first market in the area to accept SNAP benefits (formerly known as food stamps).
The market has used the same tent and the same stands for our banners for five years now (that’s about 150 tent pitchings!) and they are showing their age. The market tent is no longer functional with its leaky holes and the framework has given out. The banner stands, which welcome market customers, no longer move up and down thus one banner has to fly about five feet off the ground, making it an obstacle rather than a welcoming tool. The stands are missing pieces and knobs, and the feet of them have been run over numerous times. They are crooked and tired and need to be retired. As you can see we are in dire need of a facelift in these two areas!
We propose to buy a new, higher quality, 10 X 20 tent to replace our aging tent. The tent covers both the information booth and the musicians. We will keep our old one as a spare, to use for special events in the future. We also plan to purchase two sets of two banner stands so we can proudly display our CTFM banners at either end of the street at a respectable level where they will draw attention. These items are pricey and necessary for every market. Although we do have market funding which comes mainly from vendor dues, CTFM merchandise sales, and a few donations here and there, this is still not enough to keep our market a step above the rest. We like to keep our vendor rates low, to encourage new, small and beginning farmers to apply to the market. The small grants we receive have to be used for specific projects (and those projects do not include capital expenses unfortunately). Our steering committee and market manager are volunteers. We don't have a lot to spare.
We would love to have the funds before June 18th, which is WV Day in downtown Charles Town. Our market will move downtown on that day and there will be many first-time visitors coming through the market. We want to look our best and put our best face forward as we introduce ourselves to some new friends!
We are asking for your donation to help make the market more appealing and to give it a fresh new look! Thank you so much for considering our project!
Sincerely,
Charles Town Farmers Market Committee
Organizer and beneficiary
Charles Town Farmers Market
Organizer
Charles Town, WV
Todd Coyle
Beneficiary
