Concord’s winter farmers market hopes to move from Eagle Square to an unusual structure placed beneath the Loudon Road overpass nearby, and has started a crowdfunding effort.
As described on the Downtown Concord Winter Farmers Market page on Facebook, the plans “include the use of 2 large greenhouses anchored to 4 Connex boxes,” an industry term for what are often called shipping containers, “decorated with a mural by local artists and colorful lighting.”
It would be set up on a city-owned parking lot on the east side of Storrs Street, with the Route 9/Loudon Road overpass directly above it to provide protection from the elements.
“We plan to have our own venue that will be our permanent home for the winter market, as well as being available for community use for fairs, fundraisers, workshops, classes, group meetings, and so much more,” is how the group describes it on a GoFundMe page for the project. Organizers are seeking $10,000 and as of Monday had 10 donations totaling $420.
The group has applied for tax credits under the state’s Community Development Finance Authority and will find out by June if the request has succeeded, said Brenda White of the group.
Deputy City Manager Carlos Baiá said the idea of creating the greenhouse was floated to city officials last year but no formal proposal has been put forward. One possible concern, he said, involves the utility lines that run under Loudon Road and are carried across the Merrimack River, since the structure can’t interfere with access to them for repairs or upgrades.
Concord has had a winter farmers market for more than a decade in various locations, most recently inside the Eagle Square atrium downtown. The group says on Facebook that the space “cannot accommodate as many vendors as we would like,” hence the possible move.
Winter farmers markets are a staple of New Hampshire’s food scene and are located in a host of different types of places, from town halls and schools to businesses and shared public spaces.
Although seasonality means winter markets have much less produce and are usually much smaller than summer farmers markets, they draw fans for a mix of crafts, baked goods and prepared foods as well as farm products like cheese, honey, eggs, root crops and meats. The state Department of Agriculture lists 15 of them operating in New Hampshire this past winter. While that’s much smaller than the summer lineup, which saw more than 30 farmer markets operate in 2021, it’s an increase from the winter before.
