Farmer's Market

Sub-committee meeting

June 8 2006

Ad-hoc Development Committee Meeting
June 8, 2006

Present: Steve Howard, Dorothy Jones, Nadine Nicolls

The purpose of this meeting was to address areas of concern identified by the committee.

SIA will be the governing body for the market in the beginning. Later, a separate board may me seated through an election with subcommittees appointed.

There will be a rotation of volunteers to police the market each time it is open.

SIA will lease the land from Dalton McGuire. The details of the lease will be decided upon at a later date. SIA will be responsible for any insurance that is needed. The vendors will be required to sign a disclaimer. This will include information such as who is responsible for clean-up, a list of items that may be sold, and liability. This disclaimer can be adjusted as the need arises.

The Harrison County Board of Supervisors will be notified through Connie Rocko who is aware of the plan to develop a Farmers' Market. Dorothy Jones volunteered to notify the Health Department and the MS Department of Agriculture and Commerce. It was decided that the Harrison County Extension Office should be contacted. It was also determined to be a good idea to notify the surrounding counties and even into LA and AL.

A mission statement needs to be developed to help promote the market. A business plan will be looked at at a later time.

Initially, the vendors will be asked to bring their own tables to set up. Tables will possibly be provided later. Vendors will need to bring their own scales.Portable bathrooms will probably not be able to provided by the county. We will need to look into other possibilities; one being the house on the property. There is water available.

The hours of operation were suggested to be Wednesday and Saturday from 6a.m. till 2p.m. A Thursday evening time will also be considered. The first Saturday of each month will be the time allotted to sell crafts. It was suggested to investigate using the community center in case of inclement weather.

We will actively encourage Saucier farmers to sell at the market, but we will also allow others to set up booths. There will be no fee in the beginning, but something may be charged at a later date. There will be definite regulations about what can and cannot be sold at the market. Those items allowed: fresh produce, honey, eggs live plants, preserves, and cottage crafts. This list will be amended as needed.

The name will be Saucier Farmers' Market. There is a sign announcing it to be put up. We will contact people about advertising it on their signs. Lisa Gregore will be responsisble for putting it in the paper.

Information about the market will be on the blog. There are associations for markets that we could join. There are also grants available. Wayne Jones is working on developing a logo for SIA that would also be used in conjunction with the market.

posted by Steve Howard @ 11:02 AM