Farmers Markets, that is. I recently read an article in the Baltimore Sun that included the information about the future of two of the Howard County farmers markets.
Glenwood, and East Columbia. It seems the board may close these two markets next year.
Columbia has three markets. Thursdays in East Columbia. Fridays at the hospital and Sundays in Oakland Mills. The Thursday market does the worst business of the three in Columbia.
As for the Saturday market (our nearest market in Glenwood at the library), it never has been as popular as the others. The rural area has less people, and many of us have gardens.
There are lots of other sources for fresh veggies, too. Like the farms in the area.
I wondered last year if there were too many markets. Dilution of the customer base, as I believe the markets aren’t attracting new customers, just spreading out the current ones.
For us, if Glenwood is closed, we would just use the hospital market for fresh eggs, meats, breads and fruit.
Saturday is a great day for a market. If you could vote for where to move Saturday’s market, where would you put it? Elkridge? Maple Lawn?
hocofood@@@
AnnieRie Unplugged 
Thanks for sharing …..well written
http://panvelpost.wordpress.com/2013/11/04/is-our-bhelpuri-unhygienic/
When I was a regular customer, East Columbia market was my favorite, mainly for convenience. It is open on the right day of the week for me and is convenient to home. I stopped going, though, when I joined a CSA.
I think wherever a Saturday market is held, it needs to be an event, not an errand. If there was live music, cooking or planting demonstrations, and food trucks in addition to the vendors, I’d be more inclined to go. We used to go to the Olney Sunday market before our schedules got a little too busy, so an event doesn’t have to be close to home, like errands do.
definitely: vote for Elkridge. We have nothing on this corner of the county.
Maple lawn would be gret
There is still the one Weds at the Miller Branch library. I like that one and the one at the hospital.
Great post!
I’m sad about this… I’ve gone to the Glenwood market almost every Saturday for the past three years.
Yesterday, though, it was easy to imagine how or why that might go away. Breezy Willow has stopped coming for the season (not a problem for me, they’re on my way home). And I don’t think I saw the cake people either.
We’d already lost the meat guy a couple years ago, and South Mountain Creamery stopped coming… It doesn’t seem to me the market is doing very well, and I just don’t get it.