Farmers’ markets can be the very heart of the community for those few hours they take place within the month. This is very true with the Lewes Farmers’ Market; it is full to bursting with Lewes residents, visitors from the surrounding villages and hamlets, and we even have visitors from Brighton and London! It is impossible to walk through the market without bumping into someone you know. It really is a place that is full of smiles and chatter and this creates a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere.
As so many people come into town for their local purchases, Lewes Farmers’ Market invites local groups, not-for-profit organisations and charities into the market to highlight local issues, promote local events and raise money for their programmes.
In June we had the Lottie Project – a local children’s growing projects available to all Lewes primary school’s Year 4 students – at the market giving away herb, flower and vegetable seedlings in return for donations towards the project. They would like to thank everyone who came and chatted and donated and are pleased to announce they have raised £122. This will go towards the cost of music project (for the children who are taking part in the Lottie Project) run by a local initiative called Moving Sounds who run workshops making music using recylced materials. The children will create songs based on their experiences of the project. Last month they were with us they raised enough money to make better the paths at the allotment.
www.commoncause.org.uk
Another group we had with us on Saturday was the Lewes Coalition, an alliance of local protest groups and residents associations, who were collecting signatures in protest to the application to develop on Malling Brooks, a part of the Ouse floodplain. You can read more about the issue on their website, and if you haven’t signed but still wish to, they have a petition there you to sign.
www.lewescoalition.org.uk
If you are local group, not-for-profit organisation or charity and would like the opportunity to be at the market please go to my website and fill in the application form on my applications page. I advise you give me a few months notice as we are often booked up two month ahead of time.
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Hi, Deb. Thanks for allowing us to collect signatures for the Malling Brooks petition at the June Farmers Market – and special thanks to the 360 plus people who signed it. This was really pretty good for a blustery Saturday and a cause that needed quite a lot of explaining. We are now looking to see if we can protect the last bit of undeveloped green land within the Town by registering it as a village green. The application to build on Malling Brooks goes back to the Council on 24 June (5pm County Hall) and we’ll be presenting the petition then. Watch this space.