The Vicksburg Farmers’ Market has started a Farm to Fork Summer Cook-Off series as a fundraiser. The four monthly events are themed. Participants will sign up online, prepare a dish and gather on the second Tuesday of each month to present their dish and taste sample dishes. A winner will be chosen. June’s event opened the series with asparagus and strawberry. July’s will be a Summer Squash & Blueberry Bash, followed by a Sweet Peach & Corn Cook-Off in August, and September will wrap up with a Heaven & Earth – Apples & Potatoes event. Events will be held in Building 122 on Main Street in downtown Vicksburg from 6 to 8 p.m.
Entrants may sign up and get details at vicksburgfarmersmarket.com.
I met recently with three of the nine Farmers’ Market board members, Deborah Harsha, Carol Goldsmith-Moore and Kim Klein. We discussed some of the challenges of managing the Vicksburg Farmers’ Market. “First and foremost,” according to Harsha, “we operate as a nonprofit; our nearest competitors are operated by their cities.”
That leaves fundraising and grants to operate the Vicksburg market.
The market operates from 2 to 6 p.m. on Fridays during the season because larger nearby markets are open on Saturdays and Sundays, which would create competition for both customers and vendors for the Vicksburg market. The market is open into the evening, giving people time to shop after work.
A normal Friday will see 400 to 500 customers and feature about 40 vendors. Planning and improving is a constant for the board members as they work to accommodate things that most people take for granted, such as accepting electronic payments and government food assistance payments. There’s entertainment at the market and planning is already underway to make the annual end of the year event even more fun and exciting. Also new this season will be an on-site donation box, made as part of an Eagle Scout project. Harsha said, “If every patron donated the loose change in their pocket, we’d make our budget goal.”
