About

The Gardiner Farmers’ Market is a collaborative initiative committed to providing community access to fresh, local foods; supporting local farmers, fishermen and food producers; educating the public about food and agriculture; fostering connections between farmers and consumers; and supporting the local economy.

____________________________________________________________________________

Thanks to support from Gardiner Family Chiropractic, Gardiner Main Street, The Maine Community Foundation, our dedicated vendors and countless hours of volunteerism, the Gardiner Farmers’ Market continues to root and branch out since its inception in the summer of 2008.

Structurally, we are our own entity. The 12-22 vendors (depending on the season) are piloted by a market manager and a steering committee which, at the time of this writing, is made up of two vendors and two non-vendors. The manager and steering committee take care of the administrative, marketing and planning tasks and are in regular communication with the vendors for feedback and input.

In the summer of 2009, we became the second farmers’ market in Maine to implement an Electronic Benefits Transfer system. An EBT card, which must be swiped through a special machine, is the form food stamps have taken since 2003, making them unusable at unequipped venues. After navigating the application process, we were able to take advantage of a free point of sale machine and began accepting EBT purchases soon after. The POS machine is located at the manager’s table and once the EBT card is swiped, Gardiner Farmers’ Market tokens are given to the customer to spend at the vendors of his or her choice. The tokens can also be purchased by anyone to be used immediately or given as gifts.

In late February of 2010, we convened under the initiation of Joanne Joy of Healthy Communities Capitol Area with other agencies and entities that have shared interests in the local food and hunger arenas. Our intent was to see how we might be able to collaborate and provide missing links to one another’s endeavors, thereby strengthening the whole system. Present were representatives from area food pantries, the University Extension Program, farmers, the local director of school food service and HCCA itself. Discussed were, among other things, establishing a collaborative volunteer pool, coordinating a gleaning project, and securing ways to get surplus food from Farmers’ Markets to where it is needed.