Looking Back, Looking Forward

In the mission of Sustainable Glasgow there is no clear line between our efforts to build a robust food economy and our work to make Glasgow a more pedestrian friendly place. These objectives, and many others, are all a part of our goal to reinforce our local economy and make our community the most enjoyable place it can possibly be. This post is intended to bring everyone up to speed on how we are doing with these objectives.

Our biggest project so far has been Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market. For about a month, the full-blown version of the market for 2010 has been put to rest. But many of the BOTBM vendors are still showing up on Saturday mornings at the regular location and a lot of the local produce and meats are still available from them. Of course, we all long to enhance our local food economy by establishing a permanent year-round market place. We are thrilled to announce that another step in that direction is going to come to pass on the second Saturday of each month through March 2011!!

Through the cooperation and work of our local Barren County Cooperative Extension Service, many of the BOTBM vendors will be inside the meeting room at the Extension Service offices on West Main Street (where the Jackson House Restaurant used to be, across from Dana Corporation) on November 13, December 11, January 8, February 12, and March 12 from 8:00 am until noon. Since this version of BOTBM will be inside, you will be able to shop in comfort no matter what the winter weather might bring to Glasgow! Please help us spread the word so that the vendors will have ample opportunities to sell their wares to local folks at the Extension Service offices.

Even though we had a fantastic 2010 market year, there are still many things we want to do better. First and foremost, we need more Barren County farmers to participate by growing local fruits and vegetables and bringing them to the market to sell directly to local consumers. This year, quite often we had more customers than we had local produce to sell to them. Our objective of improving our local economy through production and employment at local farm “factories” cannot be reached until we can convince more landowners in our county to give local food a chance. We know we still have a “long row to hoe” before we can approach success in this endeavor. Will you pitch in and help us with this work?

The Annual Meeting of Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. will be held at 7:00 pm on November 9 on the Square at the SG offices, right beside the Rogers and Driver Attorney offices on the east side of the Square. At that meeting we will conduct some required business like electing board members and such, but our main objective will be to review, with the membership and the community at large, the major initiatives of Sustainable Glasgow, Inc., including the market, our plan for establishing a pedestrian way about Glasgow, our recommendations for improving traffic and parking around the Glasgow Square, and our other ideas for making our local economy more durable and our life in Glasgow more enjoyable. Since we just elected a slate of new local representatives and officials, it is a great time for us to come together and develop our recommendations for their agendas.

Please make plans to visit the market, both at its regular location and on second Saturdays inside at the Barren County Cooperative Extension Office. Also, please make plans to spend the evening of November 9 meeting with us to make important plans for the future of our community. We will welcome you!