Application Forms for
Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market - Required
Submit documents to:
Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market
Attn: Renee Betar
P.O. Box 607
Litchfield, CT 06759
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If you prefer to receive these
documents by mail,
please email Renée Betar
or call 860.567.3656
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1) Winter market
Litchfield Community Center, 421 Bantam Rd., Litchfield
Winter market dates for 2010 are:
February 27
March 13
April 10 and 24
May 8, 22 and 29
2) Summer Market
Center School - parking area, 125 West Street, Litchfield
June 12 - October 16, 2010
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
for information about the fee structure.
To participate, please complete and submit the attached application by March 15, 2010 checking the dates you wish to come. Applications can be hand-delivered, emailed or mailed to LHF-FM, P.O. Box 607, Litchfield, CT 06759. Applications will be reviewed as they are received and you will receive a response shortly thereafter.
New insurance certificate is needed with the following information:
The "Description of operations/locations/vehicles" needs to include the following:
Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market
Saturdays, June 12 - October 16, Litchfield Center School, 125 West Street, Litchfield CT 06759
The "Certificate Holder" should read:
Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market and Litchfield Hills Food Systems, PO Box 607, Litchfield CT 06759 AND Litchfield Center School, 125 West Street, Litchfield CT 06759
Reminders:
1) Factors that make our market successful include variety and abundance of CT-grown and value-added product each week. Our customers depend on your product being at the Market each week, or the Market Master knowing why you are not there and when you will be back. We understand extenuating circumstances might prevent you from attending a market. However, it is mandatory that you call or email any member of the Market Master Team as early as possible if you will not be attending (for any reason) one or more of the days you committed to attend the Market. The market layout and customer satisfaction are affected by your attendance
2) Please review the Market mission and guiding principles.
3) Litchfield is a CT-grown, producer-only market, which means that all products sold at the market must be produced in CT or made from CT-grown products. Exceptions to this Litchfield Market principle are those products that cannot be sourced in CT (e.g., olive oil, organic dried herbs, bread grains). Any exceptions in our market have been reviewed with CT Department of Agriculture (DOA) and approved for inclusion in our market under CT-Grown guidelines.
4) DOA requires CT-Grown market vendors to submit a crop plan to DOA and to the markets in which they participate. Products on the crop plan are the only products you can sell at a CT-Grown market unless you have applied for, and received, a special exception from the market. In addition, the Market Master Team tries to balance the supply of various items with the consumer demand. Thus a vendor may NOT be approved to bring all of the items on their crop plan to the Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market.. The purpose of DOA and market approval is four-fold:
a. To seek product approval from the DOA and Market Master Team
b. To assure that the product is CT-grown and/or produced with products grown in CT;
c. To help the Market Master Team coordinate product diversity; and
d. To help monitor the products brought to market; products brought to market must match products listed on the respective crop plan.
Please check your crop plan to be sure the CT-grown/produced products you bring to market match those listed on your crop plan. Anything not on the crop plan must be cleared with the Market Master Team.
5) As a producer only market, Litchfield requires that vendors directly educate consumers about the products they sell. Exceptions to the face-to-face link between vendor and consumer are products that add critical variety and breadth of CT-Grown offerings, but for which the producer is not able to staff a booth in Litchfield. Every exception in the Litchfield market has been cleared through CT DOA. Two examples:
a. Goat and cow cheeses (made in CT from CT milk) are sold by a member of the Market Master Team. However, approval was secured for producer-only status under the condition that the seller was trained in cheese-making. The seller of the cheeses invested three days in an intensive training session with the producer to learn the cheese-making process and, in turn, how to educate the consumer.
b. In the winter, hydroponic greens were sold at the Litchfield Market, but only after the seller was trained to identify the products and learn about the production methods.
Does everything you sell meet these requirements? If so, great! If not, let us know and we can help with the exception process.
6) Acceptance of value-added vendors at our market is based on an expectation that they will use as many local, CT-grown ingredients as possible. Some examples
a. Bethlehem Christian Fellowship makes pies from local fruits.
b. Snooty Foods uses local herbs to make pickles and dips.
Any questions about value-added products? We’re ready to help answer them.
Again, our thanks for a great season as we plan for the beginning of another great season.
The Litchfield Hills Farm-Fresh Market Team
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