Build Community through the Neighbor to Market Booth

From local Edgewater resident Lilly Steirer:

Last year, I joined HEALthy Edgewater and became a part of a group determined to bring more healthy food, active living, fresh and lovely goodness to our community. Soon after joining, I suggested creating a produce stand, emulated off of my previous city of Tucson’s farmers market consignment program. A few months later I found myself under a tent selling my neighbors’ produce at the Edgewater Market & Music.

The program we created invites backyard gardeners to bring their own home-grown goodness to the weekly stand to sell and make a few bucks. We pulled it off last year, but by the end of the growing season we realized we were eager for more. This lead to chats with the City about moving the market to its newest location– a place we are thrilled to share with delicious new vendors and exciting new crowds.

Being at that stand selling small bundles of produce brought more than a few coins to my pocket last year. I met neighbors, my family made new friends and I felt myself grow into our Edgewater community. When the world stage and even our own city feels a bit challenged by violence and tragic news stories, going to the Edgewater Market & Music reminds me why I am here and that life is still really sweet and full of beautiful people. Being part of our local market means making this world a bit brighter for my friends, family and community.

I want welcome you to be the change you hope to see in our shared world by joining our Neighbor to Market program. If you have a garden, we gladly will take any amount of your produce to sell. This could include a small bundle of radishes, a big pile of mint or oregano that you pulled out, a dozen eggs from your backyard chickens, fruit that is falling off your trees, those baseball sized zucchini squash that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, or the extras of a bumper crop that you can’t keep up with eating.

Drop off your garden goodness at the market starting at 5pm on Thursdays or contact Joel at the Edgewater Collective where a fridge has been reserved for us to store our produce to sell. We will sell your produce and you will make 90% of the profits. Alternatively, you can donate it and the extra money will benefit HEALthy Edgewater programs such as Edgewater Walks and to keep our Neighbor to Market program thriving and growing.

In addition, whether you have a garden or not, we would love to have your help selling this goodness! We are looking for volunteers for our booth for just a couple hours each Thursday. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact me directly lilly@lillystable.com to join us!

Finally, we could always use your support through your purchase of this exceptionally local food to enjoy on your own dinner table. Please come down and say hi to us! We are always eager to talk about the beautiful goodness that is literally growing in our own little city and if I am there you are always welcome to pick my brain about how to cook up your purchases, since that is my own specialty. With the Market & Music’s location move between Sheridan and Ames, new life has been breathed into this community event and it can only get better if YOU are a part of it!

See you at the Edgewater Market & Music every Thursday this summer from 5-8pm!

Joel Newton

Joel has been a resident of Edgewater, Colorado with his family since 2012. He is the Executive Director of local education nonprofit Edgewater Collective and Editor of the Edgewater Echo.