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Pembroke EDC: farmers market to continue on alternating Saturdays; community garden expands
Summary
Members reported a successful farmers market, agreed to run it every other week to avoid vendor burnout, and said the community garden will add five new beds; committee plans business-spotlight posts and ERZ outreach to promote local businesses.
The Pembroke Economic Development Committee reviewed recent outreach efforts including the farmers market, the community garden and a business-spotlight plan to promote local enterprises. Committee members said the farmers market drew steady foot traffic and that vendors—who pay no fee—often sold out when the market ran weekly, so the committee will resume an every-other-week schedule to reduce vendor burnout.
Speaker 2 described the market as a neighborhood success and said many attendees walked from nearby streets: "A fourth of the people were walkers from my neighborhood." Organizers noted logistical details are still being finalized: a vendor waiver is under review by town counsel and the market hours are roughly 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The committee discussed alternating weeks to balance vendor capacity and coordinator workload.
The committee also reported the community garden is fully subscribed with a waiting list and that the group plans to add five new raised beds; an initial attempt to install water failed and water access remains an open item. The committee praised local partners: Pembroke Academy students built and donated raised beds, and members suggested Eagle Scout projects as a source of volunteer labor for trail and infrastructure inventories.
On outreach, members discussed launching business-spotlight posts on the EDC Facebook page to highlight small businesses and drive traffic to town shops; volunteers will draft three to five standard questions to use for spotlights. The committee also reviewed the state Economic Revitalization Zone (ERZ) application calendar and agreed to begin promotion in the fall so businesses can prepare for the early-year application window.
Next steps: finalize market waiver language with town counsel, add five community-garden beds and publish a business-spotlight call for submissions before the next meeting.
