Opening Wednesday, July 3rd – Sweetwater Pop-up Farmers’ Market at

Tanglewood Park in the heart of Norton Shores!

 

The Sweetwater Local Foods Market, West Michigan’s  “healthy, humane & homegrown” farmers market currently operating every Saturday from 9:00am to 1:00pm at the Mercy Partners Lakes Campus building on Harvey St. near Pontaluna Rd.,  is  “kicking it up a notch” this summer; adding a second weekday evening “pop-up” market  beginning Wednesday, July 3rd from  5:00p.m. to  7:00p.m.in the parking lot of Tanglewood Park Services,  560 Seminole Rd. in Norton Shores.

As long-time customers of Sweetwater know, the market supports and encourages organic and sustainable growing practices, requiring all who sell at the market to sign a  Pledge to Our Customers that details those organic and GMO-free practices.  The market began operations in July of 2005 at Russ’ Restaurant parking lot and after a search for a year-round location began operating full time in 2007 at the Mercy Partners Lakes Campus location.

With organic farming becoming one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture (even during the worst of the economic woes of  2000-2008, the industry grew at an annual rate of around 18%), the decision to open a second market was easy. “Consumers are becoming increasingly selective about where they will spend their food dollars, making those decisions based on their values and awareness about health and environmental concerns,” said Diana Jancek, Sweetwater’s co-founder & market manager. “For them, it matters whether foods are genetically engineered, or produced using practices that are good for their families.”

The new “pop-up”  Market will run every Wednesday from July 3rd until late September from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Locally grown fresh produce, baked goods, cheeses, meats and more will be featured. The Market is conveniently located on the Sixth Street MATS bus line that makes stops at that location every hour on the hour. http://www.matsbus.com/schedules-and-maps/sixth.

Sweetwater board member Patrice Bobier of Earthscape Farm commented that  “We are  extremely grateful for the staff at Tanglewood Park, especially Executive Director of Senior Resources, Pam Curtis, who helped to make this new market possible.”

Visit the Good Food News blog at http://sweetwaterlocalfoodsmarket.wordpress.com/ where a weekly market newsletter is posted, and also the Sweetwater Local Foods market Facebook page for up-to-date information.