The manager of the farmers market in Natchitoches aims to extend a program that attracted hundreds of kids and their families to the market during the summer months.
The Cane River Green Market’sKids Club provided an incentive for children to eat healthy and to support local farmers by providing children $10 in tokens to spend with market vendors each Saturday. While the $12,000 grant is exhausted its impact lives on, according to market manager Samantha Bonnette.
“It was amazing. It was a great hit. We had tons of families come out. Over the course of the summer -- from the end of April to the end of July -- we had over 500 individual children sign in at the Kids Club tent,” Bonnette said, who worked with New Orleans-based marketumbrella.org to facilitate the program.
For the fall market that opens next month, Bonnette is calling on area businesses to help sponsor the program. Bonnette plans a scaled-back version, providing $5 in tokens to the first 100 children who register at the Kids Club tent each Saturday. She says over the summer some kids purchased produce that had never been in their homes.
“There are lots of kids who don’t know what an eggplant is. Or, they don’t know how to cook squash in different ways. It was just a way to introduce them to different fruits and vegetables and support local farmers,” Bonnette said.
The Cane River Green Market opens its fall season Oct. 10 and runs through Nov. 14. Bonnette hopes to secure the sponsorship funding by the end of the week so she can include the sponsors on promotional materials at the market. More information is on the Cane River Green Market’s website.
The summer incentive program was made possible through the Rapides Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation, Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance and MarketUmbrella.org.Cane River Green Market piece
Copyright 2015 Red River Radio
