May 16, 2016 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – The Waynesburg Farmers Market will begin its new season Wednesday with some new, educational features that will last all season.

Caitlin Carlisle has been one of the lead organizers in bringing a forum with workshops and presentations to the market this year.

“It’s a celebration of our local farmers and agriculture and the heritage of Greene County,” Carlisle said. “And it’s also so important for the people in the community to be meeting these farmers and the people who are growing their food.”

The seminars will include topics like free range, meal planning on a budget, healthy eating, canning, composting, kitchen gardens, superfoods and other sustainability issues, Carlisle said. Each session will be 15 minutes long and will run several times within the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. hours of the Wednesday market.

“We want to make sure that whatever time people stop in at the market they will be able to have the full market and forum experience,” Carlisle said.

The forums will also include children’s activities like the Seed 2 Sprout program which teaches children how to grow their own garden. That program will begin Wednesday and last all season.

Carlisle, of Rogersville, said the forums will focus on the local community and how shopping locally for food as well as other necessities can have health and financial benefits for individuals, families and the overall community.

“Several people involved in the market are passionate about feeding people and getting healthy food where it needs to be,” she said. “We have the tools here for people, but there was kind of a gap as far as how some of those nonprofits and farmers were able to talk to the community.

“This market will provide a physical meeting place every week where all of these groups can get their message out,” she continued.

“It really represents everyone that has a commitment to the community and being sustainable.”

There will also be recycled art projects for children and a traditions series that will focus on local family and heritage traditions and recipes. The market will also have Eat Greene Bags, in which farmers will gather the ingredients needed for a recipe. People can buy the bags, which will include a recipe card, to take home and cook, Carlisle said.

At the end of the season, the farmers market will have a community harvest dinner that will be open to the public.

It will be a locally sourced and prepared picnic or dinner, depending on the weather, Carlisle said.

“It will be a very large dinner, with foods from the local farms and prepared by local chefs,” she said.

Though a date and location have not yet been decided for the dinner, Carlisle said it will be in the fall in downtown Waynesburg.

Carlisle said the educational expansion of the farmers market has been a long-term dream that’s becoming a reality this year thanks to a $21,500 grant from the EQT Foundation.

Ellen Rossi, EQT Foundation manager, said the foundation’s committee voted unanimously to donate the money to try to enhance the market and “hopefully have more people attend.”

“We like to support things in Greene County and getting the community more involved in the farmers market just made a lot of sense to us,” she said.