By Pauline Benetti
Pagosa Farmers Market
The Pagosa Farmers Market management extends this invitation in February to visit the summer Pagosa Farmers Market without knowing exactly what the future holds for all of us.
We do know that the market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays June through September and very likely with COVID-19 precautions in place as was the case last year; however, the precautions did not stop our vendors from bringing their products to market nor did it stop our customers from arriving to fill their baskets to take home or to their vacation rental.
And a fine selection they had to choose from — vegetables, fruits, grass-fed beef, pastured pork, chicken, cheeses, milk, eggs, breads, honey, pastries and preserved goods. Our Small Growers Co-op is a unique market feature where backyard growers who sometimes have an excess of one vegetable or another can offer the excess for sale. This is the ideal place to put into practice the excellent advice, “Know your farmer, know your food.”
In addition to accepting cash or debit cards, market vendors accept SNAP Market Bucks for purchase of market food products and SNAP beneficiaries receive Double Up Bucks worth $20 with their first $20 SNAP purchase at each market.
Here’s something else we know for certain about the future: The Pagosa Farmers Market Online will be operational. Work is underway right now, in February, to develop the platform and recruit vendors with a wide range of offerings. We will have growers (vegetables and fruit), producers (eggs, bread, cheese, meat, etc.) and makers (artists and artisans). Some of these vendors will be at the live market, but others will not. You will want to visit the online market and become acquainted with the full productive vitality of our small community.
Find the summer market at the east end of downtown on the mountain side of the East Side Market. Join us at one or both our venues. You are welcome.
