Danny Federico: reporter3.riverbendnews@gmail.com
During its regular meeting on Tuesday, July 11, the Branford Town Council discussed the possibility of expanding the Branford Farmers' Market. Recently, resident Nancy Hendler and Councilwoman Stacey Griffith have been collaborating to try to make the market bigger and “more beneficial to the community.” Griffith stated she had pulled previous documents and ordinances the town had regarding farmers' markets to see what the set hours were, along with what is allowed and what isn't. “She's trying to grow it. She's had several people reach out to her, as far as wanting to set up a booth,” Griffith said. “We need to kind of narrow down what is allowed and what isn't, first off.” A brief discussion was held regarding the possibility of limiting items sold to those being Florida grown, but was later dropped. “I just started growing food. I want to have a farm someday, so the farmers' market is perfect for me, and I'm trying to grow it and have it benefit the community,” Hendler said. She stated how she had come up to the market one day and it was only her and another individual selling items. The next week, there were five vendors. In addition, two weeks prior to the meeting live music was performed at the market, and Hendler stated she had two other people that were interested in performing. “There's a lot of people out there that want to participate, and I think just by doing this we could offer so much more to the community,” Hendler said. She added how there were even programs available so farmers' markets can accept public benefits, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Electronic Benefit Transfer (SNAP/EBT), Fresh Access Bucks (FAB), the Women, Infants and Children Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (WIC FMNP) and the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (Senior FMNP). “Anybody that grows food, sells food, can do it too,” Hendler said. “We just have to qualify for it. They come up here [and] just use their coupons instead of money.” She stated she had reached out to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to see how the farmers' market could go about integrating public benefits. This was just the end-goal, though. For the time being, the two things Hendler and Councilwoman Griffith were primarily concerned with were adjusting the hours of the market so more people had the opportunity to attend, as well as get a general idea of what items are allowed to be sold. After a brief discussion, the council voted and unanimously approved changing the hours of the farmers' market to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. each Tuesday. This will allow people more time to visit the market before it closes, and will provide a larger window for vendors to set up and sell their goods. As for things that can be sold, the council agreed – for the time being – goods that are home grown or home made are okay to sell. Following these discussions, the council moved on to the remainder of the agenda. Before adjourning, the council members took part in their annual vote for Council President and Council Vice President. Ken Saunders was re-elected Council President by a vote of 4-1, and Alice Childress was re-elected as Council Vice President, also by a vote of 4-1. The next Branford Town Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 6 p.m. in the Town Hall, located at 502 SW Suwannee Ave., in Branford.