Something new will be blossoming in the city of Eastpointe this spring. The members of the Eastpointe Enhancement Commission are teaming up with the Eastpointe/Roseville Chamber of Commerce to design a unique farmer’s market held twice a month until September in order to help build the community and promote local businesses.
Members of the EEC include several familiar names in the city, mostly local business owners who would enjoy seeing more foot traffic and are willing to take major steps in order to bring a stronger sense of community to Eastpointe. John Hofmann of All About Health, Ronnie LaForest of American General Insurance, and Dr. Chris Dyki of Patient Empowered Dentistry took questions and explained their own ideas about the market.
The site of the farmer’s market will be in downtown Eastpointe at the East Brooke Commons shopping plaza located at Nine Mile and Gratiot Avenue. They are seeking local vendors to sell items such as baked goods, jams, flowers, and homemade crafts. They have enough space to offer twenty different vendors, giving consumers a great variety of local products to purchase.
Many community members have begun enthusiastically supporting the new farmer’s market with donations of land to grow foods sold at the market. These urban gardens will be located throughout the city. There are plans for one garden at Love Life Christian Center. Another one is slated for Gratiot, just east of Nine Mile. Mayor Suzanne Pixley is helping out by setting up an open meeting for all the new gardens. The meeting will be at the Eastpointe Historic School House on March 11. The produce sold at the farmer’s market will help cover the costs of operations.
During a committee meeting held at Eastside Teen Outreach, several residents enthusiastically offered ideas and services, including composting and recycling materials for use in the gardens. With over fifty residents in attendance, it was easy to see their eagerness to help bring the farmer’s market to reality. Many of them signed up to volunteer or had interest in selling goods at the market.
The EEC is looking for donations of time and money to help open the market by their goal date of May 12, 2012. A fundraiser to benefit the farmer’s market will be at Cloverleaf Pizza on February 28. 20% of your food bill total will be donated to the market to help cover the startup costs. A Chinese Auction and 50/50 raffle will also take place. Cloverleaf Pizza is located at 24443 Gratiot Avenue.
For more information on the Farmers Market contact the EEC at FarmersMarket@epchamber.com or call 586-648-0031.