BAGLEY 鈥� The Bagley Area Farmers Market has concluded another successful season and credits the warm weather as one of the key ingredients for making it such a great summer.
The market takes place each Friday, July through the end of September, in the grassy lot one block south of the stoplights. Customers can find a wide variety of fresh produce, homemade canned and baked goods, honey, maple syrup, jewelry and craft items and much more.
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Annie Braught has been managing the farmers market since 2012 and shared that it was probably their best season yet for vendor and customer turnout, but by far the best weather she could remember.
"While we had a few pretty warm days throughout the season with temps in the high 80s to low 90s, I can鈥檛 recall a summer where we only had a little bit of rain one day and then pretty much sunny skies every other week of market," she said. "Sometimes we can鈥檛 even make it through the end of September because it snows. So we all very much appreciated the gorgeous sunny days and know that contributed to helping make this an awesome season."
The farmers market is part of an EBT grant program where customers can receive $10 in Market Bucks and an additional $10 in Produce Bucks to use at the market each time they spend at least $10 on their EBT card.
"This incentivizes those folks to not only use their EBT dollars on healthy, local food items, it also helps their money go further," Braught explained. "And with how hard inflation is hitting everyone right now, we saw a large influx of folks taking advantage of those extra $20 each week to help feed their families this summer."
Braught also noted that the market was also certified last year as an official WIC-approved market and community members who receive senior or WIC vouchers also receive FMNP coupons as part of the Farmers Market Nutritional Program and are able to use those to purchase fresh fruits and veggies from approved vendors at the market.
"Last year we had three approved vendors and this year had six, so we are excited to see that growing as well to give people more buying options," she added.
The Bagley market, and others around the state, have noted a great influx of vendors since the coronavirus pandemic as more folks are seeking alternate hobbies and ways of earning extra income.
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"On average this season we had 12-14 vendors with our best week being 16, which might be a record for us," Braught said. "We are so grateful for all the loyal vendors who show up every week and for all the others who pop in here and there from week to week giving our customers fun options to choose from."
She also thanked all the customers for coming out to support the vendors each week and spreading the word about what a great place it is to spend a Friday afternoon.
"We are also so grateful to the city for providing us with a beautiful location site, keeping the grass mowed, hanging our street light banners and everything else they do for us each summer," Braught added. "I鈥檝e heard a lot of horror stories about how difficult some cities are to work with and we just love how welcoming and supportive Bagley has always been over the years and know we鈥檙e in good hands."
The market will reopen next summer on Friday, July 11, and be open from 3 to 6 p.m. each Friday through September, weather permitting.
For more information and updates throughout the season, follow the Bagley Area Farmers Market on Facebook, or contact Braught at (218) 358-1990 or anniekerr.mn@gmail.com.
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