4 minute read
Carmel Farmers Market Gives Thanks To Its Dedicated Volunteers
Writer // Janelle Morrison • Photography // Submitted
As the Carmel Farmers Market (CFM) winds down another fantastic summer season—one that resembled more of a prepandemic season—CFM President Ron Carter and Vice President Deborah Schmitz voiced their unwavering gratitude and appreciation for the more than 50 volunteers that comprise the CFM volunteer roster.
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The immeasurable impact that the CFM volunteers have on the market, coupled with the distinguishable high caliber of vendors that CFM brings to the city of Carmel, are what make CFM one of the premier farmers markets in the state, and the entire nation, for that matter.
CFM Promotes Livelihoods and Fellowship
According to Schmitz, the CFM summer market is a 22-week event our city and for doing the right thing for the 70 small businesses and the community members who frequent the market. Yes, they could go to other markets, but they wouldn’t have as many of the [good] vendors that we have at our market.”
that gathers every Saturday during the summer season on Carter Green, and the CFM committee volunteers an additional 18-plus weeks during its winter market.
“We give an opportunity to 70 small businesses to provide a place for them to sell their products and to give livelihoods to them and their families,” Schmitz said. “We are there every Saturday, and we wouldn’t be there at 6 a.m.—in the dark— if we didn’t love what we do and because we want to do it. We have a passion for
A Loyal and Cherished Volunteer Committee
When asked to elaborate on the CFM volunteer culture, Schmitz stated, “We [the volunteers] are a family. There’s not a person [in the CFM volunteer group] that I couldn’t call and say, ‘Hey, I need your help.’”
Carter added, “There is a volunteer ethos in Carmel that is really wonderful from the standpoint of volunteers. The volunteers are, without question, central to the success of this market. We’ve got a lot of great people working the markets and who are loyal to the markets. It’s more than setting up on Saturday mornings—it’s also their brain power and ideas. They do a lot of things behind the scenes, including getting all the contracts signed, making sure the publicity is handled and scheduling the musical groups that we feature at the market. If we didn’t have our volunteers, it would be a run-of-themill [farmers] market, and there’s a lot of those. We are a premier market and it’s because of our volunteers.”
The Carmel Farmers Market is a fun and welcoming volunteer organization that brings smiles to approximately 5,000 people every Saturday throughout the summer season. Carter was pleased to report that the market saw 90,000-plus people this season and may break 100,000 by the close of the market at the end of September.
Are you missing the local vendors and purveyors already? No worries—the Carmel Winters Market will kick off soon enough, beginning the first weekend of November. Be sure to join the market volunteers and vendors at the Winter Market, 510 Third Avenue Southwest through March of 2022. For more information, visit carmelfarmersmarket. com. And we will see you again next summer at Carter Green for the opening of the 2022 CFM Summer Market!
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