NORTHAMPTON -- Downtown Northampton's popular Tuesday Market will be run by a new entity starting April 26 -- but those perusing local produce and artisanal goods likely won't see a difference.
Grow Food Northampton has agreed to undertake the market as one of its programs, according to Clem Clay, the organization's executive director. But the open-air market, with its live music and diverse array of vendors, will largely stay the same.
"I think that the main goal is to not change anything right away, because nothing really does need to change," said Niki Lankowski, who has managed the farmers market's for the past two seasons and will continue doing so under Grow Food Northampton's leadership.
Tuesday market takes place from 1:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the pedestrian plaza between Thornes Marketplace and the E. John Gare Parking Garage. It was founded in the fall of 2008 by Ben James and Oona Coy, who also co-own Town Farm, a vendor at the market.
In January, James and Coy informed their nearly 30 vendors that they were ready to focus on other pursuits and were seeking new proprietors of the market.
"When we got word of that announcement, it made perfect sense to potentially be that next steward," Clay said.
James said he noticed that although the market was stable, it had recently fallen into a sort of routine.
"I felt like the whole time we were starting it, we kept it feeling really great and alive, and we were willing to make changes and make new things happen," James said. "But we started to think, new life behind it would make it something that stood out in the community.
"It was time for that fresh blood underneath it," James went on to say.
Clem explained that Grow Food Northampton's two main missions -- supporting a strong local food economy and making sure that people of all incomes have access to local food -- will complement and strengthen the Tuesday Market's goals.
"Like Tuesday Market, Grow Food Northampton is founded on the vision of building strong ties in our community between food producers, families, educators, artists, and civic leaders," James said in a statement to vendors. "I cannot imagine any organization better poised to take up the ongoing project of keeping the market as great as it is, while also continuously helping it to become something new."
Grow Food owns the 120-acre Northampton Community Farm in Florence, most of which is leased to four farmers, including Crimson and Clover Farm and Sawmill Herb Farm.
For the past six years, Grow Food and Crimson and Clover have offered half-off farm shares to Northampton-area families that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. And the organization's senior farm share program delivers deeply discounted bags of produce from Crimson and Clover to the Northampton Senior Center weekly.
"Everything we've done has started with the farm as an asset and built from there," Clay said of Grow Food. "Tuesday Market started from a different place, but serves the same goals."
And this year, the Northampton's Tuesday Market will be able to double the value of SNAP benefits up to $10 -- up from $5 in 2015 -- thanks to a recent Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) fundraising initiative. This means that if a person with SNAP benefits swipes an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card for $10, they would also receive another $10 in farmers market tokens.
Clay said the transition in market ownership has been made easier by Lankowski staying on staff. Lankowski began working at the market in 2012 as an assistant, and in 2014 took over full management responsibilities.
Lankowski said having Grow Food behind the market will make her job easier. For example, the organization has a bookkeeper who can write up vendor contracts and coordinate schedules.
"Instead of having my hands in every little thing, this will give me more time to focus on other tasks," Lankowski said.
Visitors of the season's first market on April 26 won't notice the ownership change, Lankowski stressed. But she said she would like to make small, tightening tweaks to the operation, like making the live music more consistent.
"Any real changes will come after really spending time looking at what the market does," Clay said, "what Niki thinks it can do better, and whether there are new ways to achieve our goals."