To date the FSFM Campaign has raised $2,100 towards that goal.  You can help us raise the final $2,900 by donating today!  Bricks and pavers are still available to purchase.  You can download the order form from this site or stop in the Market office to pick up an order form.  Orders will be accepted until November 15, and the new pavers will be installed by the end of November.

Thanks to Occam Photography for this great video.

From the event flier:

“After managing the Fulton Street Farmers Market between 2005 and 2007, Jayson Otto researched its surprising beginnings. City ordinances had for twenty years prior to 1917 declared it illegal for farmers to sell on city streets. When inflation caused food prices to soar some local residents, mostly women, believed farmers markets and community gardens could help feed struggling families in Grand Rapids. Otto’s story will reveal how they worked during the first quarter of the twentieth century to fight the “High Cost of Living” by bringing fresh food production closer to home.”

With the food movement bringing more interest in community gardening and farmers markets back to our communal consciousness, Jayson will reveal the continued relevance of the old adage that history repeats itself.

If you’ve walked or driven by the FSFM lately, you’ll notice that construction of the open-air shed/vendor stalls is proceeding rapidly.  We are on schedule for Opening Day, Saturday, May 5.  Meanwhile, fund-raising continues for the year-round building housing indoor stalls, the market manager’s office and wheelchair accessible restrooms, plus additional accessible restrooms at the north end of the Market.  We’re calling that Phase III (Phases I & II being the underground infrastructure and the shed/plaza area), and we need another $500,000 to get there.

Want to help?  Stay tuned to this website for more information about upcoming events and spread the word that donations are still needed.  Meanwhile, don’t forget the FSFM Winter Market is being held in the Salvation Army’s parking lot, on Fulton just east of Fuller, every Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm.