Hardwick Farmers' Market Revitalized After COVID
photo by Matt Blanchet | Vendors’ tents are numerous at the Hardwick Farmers’ Market on Atkins Field in Hardwick.
HARDWICK – On the dirt road leading into Atkins Field, cars quietly lined themselves in rows filling nearly the entirety of the grass parking lot. The air was thick by three o’clock and the thickness of the air, created by the aromatic medley of different vendors, beckoned to a cluster of decorated pop-up tents. Small groups crowded around each of the twenty tents. A sense of relief was ever-present as people exchanged produce and salutations, making sure to establish a familiarity even with those who were completely new to them.
From 3 to 6 p.m., every Friday since May 21, Atkins Field has hosted an array of food vendors. These vendors, serving both prepared meals and local produce, are what make up the Hardwick Farmers’ Market.
On this particular Friday, June 18, the summer solstice, the farmers’ market was celebrating pollinator awareness through what they called the Pollinator Fest. Kayleigh Boyle, the Hardwick Farmers’ Market manager, says that while the pollinator-themed festivities were meant to celebrate the summer solstice, the main hope was that the Pollinator Fest would make people aware that the farmers’ market was up and running again.
photo by Matt Blanchet | The Pavilion at Hardwick Farmers’ Market at Atkins Field was busy on June 18.
Operating during the beginning of the pandemic, the market was stunted because of an abundance of COVID precautions. The Pollinator Fest was meant to reestablish a return to normalcy following a difficult season last summer. To all the community members there, this was exciting news. Throughout the day there were exclamations of joy from different people seeing friends they were distanced from during quarantine; customers spending a good amount of time at each tent learning about the food they were buying; people idly chit-chatting with friends and happily making small talk with strangers. This was how the farmers’ market was meant to be, a place for communal engagement, an aspect that was lost during the height of the pandemic.
Bethany Dunbar, who works for The Center for an Agricultural Economy and who manages the Atkins Field property, spoke to the importance of the farmers’ market on the community: “The farmers’ market is just a really centerpiece for Hardwick’s food culture and food systems because you can come here and connect directly with the farmers so you know where your food is coming from. You know it’s healthy. You know it’s safe.”
Despite the pandemic last season, Atkins field still hosted a variety of vendors, but had to follow extensive COVID regulations. These regulations skewed the entire atmosphere of the farmers’ market as customers were not able to interact either with their fellow community members or, perhaps more importantly, the vendors selling them food.
Not only did COVID regulations fracture the ability for the community to gather, they also had major effects on the profits of vendors. Peter Lussier, a vendor for Maple Hill Apiaries, encountered difficulties last season with the emphasis on staying close to home. Peter lost customers from Vermont and Canada who would travel to the farmers’ market for his honey products. It is with hope, though, that the people involved with the farmers’ market will use Atkins field as a place where the community can reconnect.
The large A-frame pavilion with signs advocating pollinator awareness was the centerpiece of the Pollinator Fest. The pavilion was a new addition to Atkins Field, a decision, Dunbar said, that was entirely driven by the community: “One of the lessons has just been how much the community wants spaces like that.”
photo by Vanessa Fournier | Hardwick Farmers Market manager Kayleigh Boyle sits in her tent at the market Friday. The market, located on Atkins Field, averages around 20 vendors a week and will be open every Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. until October 8
Throughout the day there was live music and activities for children all happening under the pavilion. Dunbar hopes that the momentum from building the pavilion can be carried over to refurbishing the large shed that loomed just behind some of the tents. There is no schedule for when the shed renovation will begin, but engineering students from UVM have visited the structure to provide ideas on what might be done.
In the back of Atkins field is a space used for other important community-driven projects: a well-kept community garden, a small wire greenhouse, and a winding dirt bike track.
The Hardwick Farmers’ Market will continue every Friday from 3 to 6 p.m., until October 8. Additionally, on August 13, Atkins Field will be hosting the Community Farm and Food Celebration in collaboration with the farmers’ market and include demonstrations and activities with old-fashioned crafts.
To view published article in the Hardwick Gazette, click here.
