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POMPTON LAKES - Business district to offer farmer’s market
(by Leslie Scott - Staff Writer - June 01, 2008)
POMPTON LAKES - The Business Improvement District (BID) is preparing a summer-long program that could boost commercial traffic in the downtown.
The BID has invited farmers and merchants to participate in its Farmers’ Market, which will be held in the Pond Hole parking lot every Friday from 12 to 7 p.m., June 20 to Oct. 31.
The market will feature fresh produce, fruit, baked goods, meats, poultry, fish, pasta, cheeses, pickles and desserts. New Jersey Fresh Farmers, Alstede Farms, Stony Hill Farms and High Mountain Foods have agreed to participate this summer.
The BID plans to notify every business in the community to invite them to set up a table during the events.
“This keeps people in town, doing their shopping, and it also brings people into town,” said BID Executive Director Beth Lippman.
“We are looking for ways to bring shoppers into the community and we felt that a Farmers’ Market would bring people into town and, hopefully… shop in some of the stores here as well,” said BID chair John Soojian.
Fridays are also a great time for the market.
“It is the day before the weekend. Very often people entertain, they have barbecues, they are going down the shore or to the mountains and they would stop by to pick up stuff,” Soojian said.
The timeframe is also great, Lippman explained, because it covers lunch and when everyone is on their way home.
These markets have been a proven success.
Lippman said that Livingston holds a market on Thursdays, and businesses owners have told her sales increase 10 percent when they participate.
Nearby Ringwood also holds a market. Sponsored by Eat Local, its goal is to help raise awareness of the importance of buying locally grown food, said Amy Jolin, president of Eat Local.
Although Ringwood does not have a downtown like Pompton Lakes, Jolin said the market “has certainly increased the consumption of locally grown foods.”
The Eat Local market will be held on Saturdays at the Ringwood Park and Ride on Cannici Drive from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Nov. 1.
“Hopefully we’ll see it work out well this year, and my understanding is that as they do better, more farmers and people with other wares become interested and look to join,” said Soojian.
For more information, call the Pompton Lakes BID at 973-835-3464.
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