4MRMarket Report: "Watch this Space" Edition

The Four Mile Run Farmers and Artisans Market has a lot of exciting news for the upcoming 2011 season, set to begin on the first Sunday in April (April 3rd). 

Last season was a great start. While there were ups and downs, and Sundays seemed to have bad luck with weather (how can every Saturday be so nice and every Sunday be either rainy or boiling?), last year was just the start of the snowball headed down the mountain. This year, there is a LOT coming to the market that will make the market stronger, more attractive to customers, and more inclusive for the everyone in the community.

The big news:

• 4MRMarket has been certified to become the first farmers market in Alexandria to accepting SNAP/EBT (food stamps) for qualified purchases. The market has also partnered with INOVA Alexandria Hospital and the Alexandria Health Department to all participants to receive double dollars to spend at the market. This effectively makes the market half as expensive for participants in the program! Produce, seafood, meat, dairy, and breads, and most items for home consumption are the basic eligible items, but you can find a full list by clicking here.
• The 4MR Community Building (aka the old Duron Paint store) will be renovated for community use by early in the season, providing bathrooms, market storage, and a much better aesthetic to the market!
• The entire site, from the community building northward to Four Mile Run, will be completely remade into a hardscaped, landscaped, and colorful park, starting this summer!

Other news:

New improvements coming to the 4MR Park
We've been hard at work at 4MRMarket, but not as hard as a group of award-winning, volunteer architects called Architects Anonymous that has helped the community to form and embrace these changes. Please read this article in The Arlandrian to find out more about these changes to the market space.

Credit Cards to be accepted at 4MRMarket
As a convenient bonus, the SNAP/EBT card readers will all for the market to accept Credit Card payments for all vendors, as well.

Market Meeting and Site Prep
Stay tuned for upcoming dates for a market meeitng. We will also be spending some time at the site doing some prep work and volunteers are welcome to meet us then too.

Volunteer Oppurtunities

4MRMarket needs help.  We are looking for folks willing to volunteer to manage and book the community events and performance tents.  We are also looking for folks to help man the electronic purchases machine and, as always, folks to help us set up and break down each week.  Please contact us at: 4mrm@arlandria.org

MORE TO COME!

We expect a lot of excitement this year at 4MRMarket: music, events, park improvements and whole lot of good stuff to buy.

Watch this space.

_______________

The Four Mile Run Farmers and Artisans Market (Alexandria, Virginia 22305) brings fresh, nutritious food to people of all income levels, provide an opportunity for local artisans and producers of goods to bring their wares to market, strive to reflect the diversity of the community, and improve the quality of life for Arlandria residents and visitors. It is part of an overall vision to expand and improve Four Mile Run park and the surrounding neighborhood.

4MRMarket is open every Sunday from 8am until 1pm from April through October in Four Mile Run Park at 4109 Mt Vernon Avenue, Alexandria. 

(click here for directions)

For more info see: http://www.4mrmarket.org/

Or contact us at: 4mrm@arlandria.org