BRATTLEBORO-Under a gigantic maple tree at the site of an old mink farm along the banks of Whetstone Brook, delegates from the Vermont Legislature representing Brattleboro gathered to present a resolution congratulating the Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market (BAFM) on its 50th anniversary on Saturday.
Sens. Wendy Harrison and Nader Hashim and Reps. Mollie Burke and Emilie Kornheiser were on hand for the festivities and commemoration of BAFM hitting its half-century milestone in 2024. They all co-sponsored the resolution, along with Rep. Ian Goodnow.
Kornheiser read the resolution and recalled coming to the market 20 years ago when her infant daughter was in a front pack. She said that her 3SquaresVT benefits made it possible for her to buy fresh vegetables for her family.
Alyson Eastman, deputy secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, offered remarks, as did Andrew Graham of the Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA-VT) and BAFM cofounders Peter Gould, Jay Bailey, and Howard Prussack.
So did Read Miller, of Dwight Miller Orchards in Dummerston, whose late father, Dwight, was another one of the BAFM founders.
Four generations of the Miller family have been or are involved with BAFM, and 14 members of his family have been vendors since it began.
"We feel the need to return the opportunity that we were given," Read Miller said. "To be here, to be part of this community, to sell our products that we worked so hard to grow and make."
Humble beginnings
Gould, part of the back-to-the-land migration to Windham County in the late 1960s and early 1970s, told the crowd that, in 1974, "a representative of Windham Regional Commission came to us and said, 'Hey, we want to start a farmers market!'"
Prussack, of High Meadow Farm in Westminster West, told the crowd, "We had humble beginnings. The first year we had eight vendors, and it was downtown on Elliot Street."
Sales didn't exactly break records during those first few years.
"When I was at the first one in 1974, my father left me off with a card table and boxes," Miller said. "He came back at end of day to pick me up. I was 14 years old. I asked my Dad, 'What are we doing this for? We sold $24.63.'"
The following winter, another organizational meeting took place, and the newly reconstituted market opened in July 1975 at the old Locke Farm at the corner of Route 9 and Sunset Lake Road.
The next year, the market moved once again, this time to a tract of land near the Creamery Bridge owned at the time by Central Vermont Public Service Corporation and leased to the town for recreational purposes.
The BAFM has been there ever since.
"We moved to this location in 1976, and my booth was over there," Gould said with a gesture. "I had a sign that said 'Life is short, eat more pie.'"
"We came in the summer of 1978, so 1979 was the first year," Bailey, of Fair Winds Farm of Brattleboro, said as he gestured toward the trees. "This tree was here, that tree was here. Our vendor circle was under these trees, and we started with six to eight vendors. The season's total sales were less than $10,000."
The market had to do better.
"We did advertising, got ourselves a manager, and next year, we were up to $25,000, and then the year after that was up to $40,000," Bailey continued.
"I'd call into WTSA-FM radio and [News Director] Larry Smith graciously encouraged us to read the list on the air of what was being produced right here," he said. "It was and is absolutely inspiring!"
An economic engine
BAFM has come a long way from Read Miller's $24.63, with its proceeds placing it among the top five of all farmers markets in Vermont. Produce accounts for 65% of its sales; 25%, crafts; and 10%, prepared foods.
Eastman told The Commons that BAFM generates $1 million in sales during the five months - 130 hours - the market is open (May to October).
Graham, a former Brattleboro resident who is NOFA-VT's farmers market specialist, said that the organization provides "a community for farmers market leaders in the state to share knowledge, advocate on behalf of farmers markets to the Legislature, and we do statewide marketing of farmers markets."
Thirty years ago, there were only 30 farmers markets in Vermont, Graham said. Today, there are 60.
Brattleboro, he said, is "one of the flagship markets in Vermont."
"If you live here, you should be super proud!" Graham said. "By lots of metrics, this one is among the top in Vermont. BAFM is an example to other farmers markets in the state and nationally."
The benefits of farmers markets are many, he added. "Creating a welcoming environment for customers, all vendors need to follow rules with no favoritism going on. They are offering something that customers really want and there are so many community interactions going on."
Eastman said her state agency works with NOFA and the Legislature "to keep farmers markets moving and to support them."
The administration's commitment is part of its strategy of supporting local food and local farms, said Eastman, who grew up on her family's farm in Orwell, where she still lives with her husband and sons.
Her background has given her first-hand knowledge about the "huge contribution" farmers have made to the market and its success.
Farmers also quietly serve to connect the community, she noted. "They also serve on our fire departments and rescue squads and selectboards. They are very humble."
Farmers markets, Eastman said, are "not only about networking but being inclusive. The food vendors, the artists, the farms, the number of cars here and how hard it is to find a parking spot, says it all."
A commitment to place
Over the years, BAFM has been able to raise money from the community and now owns the land that had been its home for decades.
The market bought its first piece of land on Western Avenue in 2013.
Many speakers mentioned how flooding from Tropical Storm Irene only two years before nearly wiped out the market.
"There was a river where we were standing. We are on a flood plain and now it's a park. It was a garbage dump when we bought it, and we made it into this beautiful park," Bailey explained.
"It's super unique in Vermont to own your own land!" Eastman said.
The new property owners quickly purchased an adjacent tract in 2014 - the site of a former gas station, which became a spot for overflow parking after decontamination measures. A third parcel was added in 2020. The BAFM now owns 4.05 acres, according to town listers' records.
"We were hoping it would work because it has location, location, location," Bailey said.
"Markets around the state don't own their land. We do. It comes down to communities deciding that it's worthwhile," he added.
And BAFM's ability to do that is a reflection of the community's willingness to step up, donate, and invest in the long-term financial well-being of the nonprofit.
"What makes the farmers market is you," Bailey said. "The community welcomed us with open arms. We've woven ourselves into the fabric of life in this area. We can wrap ourselves in it and feel warm and cozy."
Eastman said the biggest challenge facing farmers markets in 2025 is that "it takes a lot of donations, time, and community, [and] farmers coming together to support one another. Farms that are established must be here to assist those that are starting out."
The most important thing, she said, "is the partnerships that we have: what farmers and the community members are giving to make this stand up."
It's all about community, connections, and support, Eastman observed.
"Giving of time and money to make this what it is today," she said. "The smiles on people's faces, the food, the music, [seeing] your neighbors that you don't always see. This is a social life - the business that was done right here at this market."
The Brattleboro Area Farmers' Market, 570 Western Ave. (Route 9), is held every Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m, from May to October with locally grown produce, prepared food, handmade crafts, and more from 40 vendors. For more information, visit brattleboroareafarmersmarket.com, email [email protected], or call 802-490-4371.
This News item by Victoria Chertok was written for The Commons.