Butler City Farmers’ Market returning
Every stall at the Butler City Farmers’ Market is scheduled to be filled by vendors this summer, and some sellers are even to be set up outside the South Chestnut Street barn.
Butler Mayor and farmers market manager Bob Dandoy said the Saturday morning series surpassed the organizers’ expectations for the past two years in terms of attendance. He said he thinks this year will be no different, starting with the kickoff on May 28.
“The COVID year, we thought this was going to be rough. We were only allowed to put people in every other stall. Last year, we thought people aren't in the groove yet, that we would fall back,” Dandoy said. “We went ahead, and we had more vendors, more people, and it's in the hundreds now who come to the market every Saturday.”
The farmers market is organized by Butler Downtown, and takes place from 8:30 a.m to -12:30 p.m. every Saturday, tentatively through October.
Dandoy said there are 18 vendors committed to the first several weeks of the market, and others committed to being there the whole season. He said many of the popular booths are returning, including Grandma Betty Baked Goods, Gabriel's Garden, Thompson Farm and the Butler Lion’s Club.
There are also several new shops scheduled to attend the market. Dandoy said products range from produce and farm goods to soaps, candy and coffee. The variety of products sold at the market is what allows it to stay open through October, after crop season is over.
There is also live music scheduled every few weeks at the market, Dandoy said.
Pond Hill Farm of Kittanning is another vendor returning to the farmers market. Its owner, Isaac Porter, said he has been selling products at the Butler market for several years.
“I go to a few farmers markets, but it's definitely one of the biggest ones; I am looking forward to it,” Porter said.
Porter and Dandoy said the type of produce available at the market is likely to vary from week to week, especially during the early months when some vegetables have not yet been harvested.
“You should never go there saying, 'I want brussels sprouts for dinner.' You should be going there to say, 'What's the freshest thing they have there,’” Dandoy said. “The first several weeks, we won't have potatoes and corn. At the beginning, it's a lot of prepared foods and things like that, and more of the produce will come.”
Porter also said attending farmers markets is one of the best ways to turn a profit for himself and many other farms. While farming is a year-round job, selling can be more of a seasonal part of the job.
“The thing is, I have like 20 weeks to sell to make a full year's profit,” Porter said. “(Dandoy) told me the building is going to be full, so it should be a good opportunity.”
Dandoy said the market opens at 8:30 a.m., which organizers will enforce because it had been crowded with people trying to get in earlier in years past.
Dandoy also said the farmers market has remained popular because of the variety of vendors who attend.
“We have to have that broader variety of offerings for consumers trying to keep that focus on freshly made unique products you can't get anywhere else,” he said.
