Sustainable Glasgow Board Meetings

The Sustainable Glasgow board will hold its regular monthly meeting at 5:00 p.m. at the Sustainable Glasgow office at 108 East Public Square on Wednesday, December 11.

We are going to try to do better at meeting at a regular time (presently second Wednesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. at this location) and also do better at notifying everyone that might be interested in our deliberations. All are welcome to come and interact!

As we get better at this, and as the holiday season releases some of our time commitments, we will also begin to post our Tentative Agenda in advance as well.

Sustainable Glasgow has a great vision for our community. We welcome all who want to come get involved with us and help formulate that vision and help us make it come to pass.

Sustainable Glasgow's Boldest Idea Yet

On the occasion of its fifth anniversary, the board of Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. announced plans to seek funding to purchase and renovate a large unoccupied building on the Glasgow Square. The bold plan they revealed is to acquire the building  at 124 South Public Square, which was formerly the home of the Western Auto Store and most recently PJ’s College of Cosmetology. The building would be converted into a permanent home for Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market and an indoor food-court for the marketing of fresh local farm products and farm to table prepared foods.

Sustainable Glasgow President, Dr. Jerry Ralston, revealed the conceptual plan for the building  and stated, “The board and volunteers  who make up Sustainable Glasgow are very excited to present this plan to establish a garden of opportunity right in the middle of Glasgow, and we hope that it will flourish and that more hope and excitement will grow on the Square at the very center of life in Glasgow.”

Immediate past President of Sustainable Glasgow, Dr. William Travis, expanded on the concept and the economic incubator nature of the plan. “I believe that our downtown can become a livelier, more attractive, and more pedestrian friendly place. We have hope for more restaurants and local businesses to find the public square an attractive place to locate. We want this facility to become a catalyst for the realization of those goals by building upon our local food movement activities and the highly successful history of the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers’ Market.”

The SG board has applied for a matching grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund which they hope will provide 50% of the funds necessary to acquire and renovate the building. .The other half of funding would need to come from local sources that have an interest in establishing this anchor point for the future of Glasgow’s downtown economy. The plans include space for a variety of vendors, a full commercial kitchen and cold storage for produce to be retailed by vendors in the facility, as well as wholesaled to local restaurants, hospitals, schools, and other institutions.  Producers can cost-effectively use the Kitchen to add value to their products by canning and converting fresh produce into products which have a longer shelf life.

President Ralston added “Sustainable Glasgow has a dedicated group of volunteers who are passionate about this community and are striving to improve it for everyone. We composed a very high quality application for the Kentucky Farmers’ Market Competitive Grant Program and we are optimistic about our chances to receive funding. But for the initiative to be successful we must find local supporters who share this passion for making our local economy more durable, improving the livability of our community, and are motivated to donate money to match any grant funds we receive,” . The total estimated cost of getting this dream to become a reality is about $300,000. Therefore, Sustainable Glasgow is seeking to raise half of that from citizens in the community who believe this project is worthwhile.

Sustainable Glasgow, Inc. is a 501-C3 non-profit organization which may provide tax advantages to those who choose to support this project.

 

Plans for BOTBFM 2013 Continue to Develop

Plans for the 2013 Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market continue to evolve. First, you should know that we have one more winter market, on April 13th, at the Cooperative Extension Service office on West Main Street. This will be an exciting day as it will also be the Extension Service's Earth Expo Day. Our vendors will be out in the parking lot along with many other exciting exhibits that day. We hope you will be there.

The next weekend, April 20, will be our opening day on the Glasgow Courthouse Square, and what a day we have planned! That morning there are a number of exciting community events. The Butterflies for Maddie Run, and a new event, the Tour de Farm will also be that morning. The Tour de Farm will begin at WKU Glasgow Campus and it will be a great opportunity for you to walk, jog, cycle, push your stroller, allow  your kids to ride tricycles, in other words, a great opportunity to be outside on a short jaunt from WKU to the Glasgow Square. And when you get to the Square, BOTBFM will be open for the business of bringing fresh, healthy, local food to your table. There will also be celebratory speeches, including our Secretary of Agriculture, James Comer.

We also hope you will take a few minutes and view the short video above. What he has to say is right in line with the way we think about food and the opportunities for our local farmers to provide food that is simply better than anything you can get at a supermarket. Please take a few minutes to view it and then mark your calendars for these important dates in April. 

Visit the Bounty of the Barrens Farmers Market website for more information. 

The Award Winning Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market - 2013

We haven't posted here lately as most of our information is now being posted to the Sustainable Glasgow Facebook page at this link or our Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market Facebook page at this link , but it seems timely to make sure you know what is going on here as well. On the left side of this page are some important items about SG and the market for 2013. 

The first link on the left takes you to the 2013 Vendor Application. If you want to join in on the fun of being a vendor at Bounty of the Barrens Farmers' Market in 2013, now is the time for you to download the application and fill it out and return it to us along with the appropriate fees. Opening day is April 27 and we have a real party planned for that day!

If you are interested in helping us fulfill the mission of Sustainable Glasgow, Inc., we are looking for financial support. There is another link on the left side of the page which takes you directly to our approved 2013 budget. As you can see, it takes a few dollars for us to do what we are doing in our efforts to make Glasgow an all-around cooler place to live. Can you or your firm step up and help us? Please give our budget a review and contact us if you want to be a part of our movement!