Farmer’s market plans are being considered

Plans are in the works for a farmer’s market to be held at the intersection of N.C. 18 North (East Whitehead Street) and Grayson Street beginning in June, according to Carolyn Sprinkle with New River Community Partners.

The proposed location of the event is adjacent to Crouse Park and utilizes the .88 acre involved in a property swap between D.W. Miles and Barbara Miles and the Town of Sparta in October 2004.

“We’re working to try to get something together, even if it’s in a tent structure this year at the (former) Miles property,” Sprinkle said. “I know we won’t have time to have a structure built. We can have the lot cleaned off and some tents put up.”

Funding for a permanent home for the Farmer’s Market is being looked into at this time, according to Sparta Town Manager Bryan Edwards. David Isner with Cooperative Extension is assisting in the mission. In a brief phone interview last Friday, Isner said, “We haven’t found anything about sources of funds. If we can’t find sources of funds for a permanent structure, we have found support for temporary shelters, signs and Farmer’s Market banners.

“The bottom line is, it’s exciting to have a permanent location beside the park for the farmer’s market. In the past, it’s been a parking lot tent market,” Isner concluded.

On a side note, Edwards stated in an interview last Friday that he recently learned about the Appalachian Regional Commission through a newspaper article. The article noted that Carroll County, Va. received a $100,000 grant for an expansion of their Farmer’s Market. “We’re going to look into that (the ARC) to see if there is any possibilities for us,” Edwards said. “That’s a very nice grant amount. In this article, they were talking about what the Appalachian Regional Commission had done for southwest Virginia. That’s just one (idea) and I have no idea whether or not the ARC would be the right thing for us or what the possibilities would be, but that’s one of numerous potential funding situations that we would be looking at.”

Edwards agreed that the likely permanent location of the market is the former Miles property.

“It’s not a 100 percent, but I would say that is the consensus of the council,” Edwards said. “The consensus is that that would be a good location for a Farmer’s Market.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back