Farmers' Markets have a rich history in America, bringing local producers and consumers together. Commonly found in traditional downtown districts, they also provide consistent weekly interaction which encourages further business development. Established markets may be found in Blacksburg, Roanoke, Radford and Floyd.
The Town of Christiansburg is one of the few communities which does not currently have an organized market, and on Dec. 7 council expressed tentative support if a private individual or entity were to proceed to get one up and running.
Councilman Steve Huppert recirculated the topic for council discussion, reporting he had been speaking with individuals who expressed interest in coordinating such a venture. He has also written commentaries which were published in local papers on this topic after attending the VML conference.
Huppert suggested a self-employed contractor receiving vendor fees and asked council for additional nominal financial support for facilities, or annual "seed money" coming from the town's retained tourism funds. His suggestion was for a part-time self-employed contractor for a market operating on Saturdays May through October at a to-be-determined location.
It was noted several "tail gate" markets were already operating in various locations within the town. Having a coordinator and specified location could pull these independent vendors and consumers to a known schedule and destination, and support a growing trend to "buy local" and have access to fresher or cheaper produce.
Council was not supportive of flea-market or mass produced type vendors, and instead expressed preference for in-season produce and locally made products.
Mayor Richard Ballengee noted this topic was not new to Christiansburg, and had been discussed by council at least twice in the past. One apparent obstacle is town zoning only allows such a venue in I-2 or B-3 districts. As an example, this would not allow the town's municipal parking lot or other properties in the downtown Central Business District (B-2) being used as a by right location and would require rezoning or a conditional use permit.
Additionally, Huppert stated he was unaware the recently formed Christiansburg Civic League had already researched possible locations and vendor interest, which addressed the project from a community asset, planning and economic development approach. That group expects to schedule another Speakers Series meeting to pull interested parties together who would support the goal of having a May 2011 opening for a downtown Farmers Market.
Connecting artisans, agri-tourism and agricultural producers with customers is also supported within the Montgomery County Artisan Trail, which is part of Southwest Virginia's Round the Mountain network and a partner of the Virginia Tourism Commission. These venues are supported in the Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan as well.
Consensus of council was that of being receptive to considering possible in-kind support but not directly involved in operating a market. Council members encouraged anyone interested in coordinating a Christiansburg Farmers Market to schedule attending a council meeting with a presentation and proposal.