Belleville Farmer's Market

Saturday was the last Farmer’s Market of the Season in Belleville, KS. I occasionally hear comments that our Market is too small; we don’t have enough vendors, etc. but I would like to challenge those people to ask what more they are wanting.  Many Saturdays there aren’t a great number of vendors but the variety of products is outstanding. There has been an array of fresh vegetables and fruit, jams & jellies, handmade soaps and wax tarts and a variety of baked goods.    We would invite you to please come check it out before you judge.  If you are not finding what you want, please let us know.  We always welcome new vendors to join the Market.
I just want to extend a huge thank you to all of our vendors.  They are a great group of people and we wouldn’t have a market without them.  If you see some of our vendors, please tell them thank you.  Special thanks to our Market Manager David Pachta. David is paid a nominal fee for his manager duties but he goes way above and beyond to make the Market a great place for vendors as well as customers. 
We always end the last Market of the season with a thank you meal for our vendors, downtown at the Dinner Bell.  We also get feedback from the vendors at this time, talk about successes, what did and didn’t work and discuss plans and new ideas for another year.
 I also want to make the public aware of a grant program that we are fortunate to be part of. The Kansas Department of Agriculture received a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farmers Market Promotion Program Grant to create a Kansas Farmers’ Market Toolkit. The toolkit provides promotional materials and resources to enhance existing farmers’ markets in Kansas and promote awareness to customers.  20 Farmer’s Markets in the state received signage, flags, tents, hand-washing stations, sampling supplies, recipe cards and other items to promote the markets and enrich the Farmer’s Market experience.  The photo below was taken at our Farmer’s Market Saturday and displays the items that we have received so far.  We feel very privileged to receive these items at no cost to help advertise and promote our local Market.
For more information about farmers’ markets in Kansas or the Kansas Farmers’ Market Toolkit, contact Julie Roller, state trademark program “From the Land of Kansas” specialist,Julie.Roller@ks.gov, or at www.FromtheLandofKansas.com/farmersmarkets.
Don’t forget that the first Downtown Market is this Saturday October 1st at the Belleville Public Library from 9 AM – Noon.  It runs the first and third Saturdays from October – May.  We would like to thank the Belleville Public Library for providing the inviting space for the Downtown Market. 
The outdoor Farmer’s Market will start again Saturday May 27, 2017. 
The Belleville Farmer’s Market was started by the Belleville Main Street Program in the summer of 2003 and is still operated by Belleville Chamber & Main Street. 
Be sure to “Like” and follow the Belleville Farmer’s Market page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BellevilleKSFarmersMarket/
Visit www.bellevilleks.org for more information about Belleville, Kansas. The Community Calendar on the home page serves all of Republic County. Submit your Republic County event to mainstreet@nckcn.com