The Northwest Detroit Farmers’ Market is a Grandmont Rosedale tradition. Since 2005, the Market has been a place for neighbors to convene, socialize, and support small businesses. It is a space that provides fresh produce and fun activities for families. Importantly, the Market has always been a space where residents can feel safe. We’re taking measures to make sure this year’s Market maintains that safety as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.
To achieve that, we’re providing curbside and delivery services for this year’s Market! These services will allow the Market season to proceed while observing physical distance to protect our neighbors. The Market will still operate at the Community House on 18445 Scarsdale in North Rosedale Park. Our plan is to focus on curbside pick-up and delivery from the Market’s opening beginning June 4 with the hope of making smart and safe shifts back to an in-person market as the Market season progresses. It is also our aim to keep providing these services when the in-person market resumes, making it as inclusive and widely accessible as possible (contact Kiki Louya if you’d like to volunteer).
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS:
We’ve put together an online order form, which can be accessed directly from our website, www.grandmontrosedale.org. You’ll use this form to order online between Wednesday and Monday at noon. Your order will be prepared on Thursday of the following week. For example, orders open for the first time on Wednesday, May 27, and any orders placed that day would be ready on Thursday, June 4. Sorry, no same-day or 48-hour pickups!
Orders will be packaged at the Community House on Thursday between 4 and 6 pm (roughly the same timeframe as our regular Market). Don’t worry—the Community House has a new commercial kitchen with refrigeration to safely store the goods. If you chose curbside pick-up, you’ll pull into the circular drive at the Community House, where a volunteer will come to your car and put a box containing your order in the trunk. All volunteers will make use of masks, gloves, handwashing, and sanitizer solution. Our deliveries are being handled by Deeply Rooted Produce, a Detroit-based “mobile grocery store” and food distributor. Just like curbside pick-up, deliveries will be made during the abbreviated Market hours, so you can expect to have your package between 4 and 6 pm.
SOME RETURNING FAVORITES, AND SOME NEW FAVORITES
Now that you know the process, here are some of the vendors and products you can expect at our 2020 Market! Many of our Market favorites are back this year – Sweet Potato Delights, Jane’s Greenhouse Soups, Loran Teas, Simply Irresistible Popcorn, Leo’s Southern Cha Cha, and more. As always, we’re working with the Eastern Market, which will give you access to goods from Green Toe Gardens, Slow Jams, and Grown in Detroit. In addition, we’re proud to feature products from D-Town Farm and Oakland Avenue Urban Farm this year.
Beginning on June 4, we hope to see you at this year’s Northwest Detroit Farmers’ Market. Things have been tough in Detroit and around the world, but community and resilience will pull us through. As Dr. Velonda Anderson, owner of Sweet Potato Delights, puts it: “We got this!”
GRDC’s Economic Development Manager Kiki Louya is running the Market this year. She brings a wealth of Farmers’ Market experience and Detroit food-world connections that have been crucial in making this year’s Market possible. She was also born and raised in Rosedale Park. Here’s a word from Kiki:
“When we think of farmers’ markets, we think of reconnecting communities to their local food systems—and they do exactly that! But farmers’ markets also reconnect communities to one another, which is why it is so important to preserve this tradition in Grandmont Rosedale for years to come.
This season, you will see some changes. But you will also see the familiar—healthy produce, friendly neighbors, dear friends, and the vendors you’ve come to love and support year after year—and at a time when much of our days seem uncertain, this fun weekly event is something you can count on.
I hope it offers a sense of comfort. I hope it gives us hope. Perhaps most importantly, I hope it reminds us all that when we come together to support the things that matter to us most, our future shines brighter than ever before.”
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