Tom Cramer’s letter (Herald, May 14) castigating the Durango Farmers Market board for not accepting his application for his lemonade stand at the 2014 market is misinformed and unnecessarily critical of the market and its board. This market has evolved over 18 years with rules made by the member/vendors to protect its agricultural foundation. These rules stress “local,” and they have always set limits on the number of crafts, value-added, ready-to-eat and beverage vendors. Each year, new challenges and opportunities evolve, and the member/vendors and their board strive to solve them to protect this grower market and the local character of DFM.
Cramer, apparently, did not know that last year the market member/vendors voted to: 1) Make available one seat on the five-member board from the nonagricultural membership. 2) Fill available vendor spaces with nonagricultural members in the shoulder seasons (early spring and late fall) and as advisable, to keep the market place full.
Also, the rules and regulations of the DFM presently state: “... if during the course of the market season, an agricultural producer begins to sell the same product and they plan on continuing to sell that product, then the value-added vendor will not be able to sell that product the next market year. Preference will always be given to the agricultural producer.” Last year, an agricultural vendor sold lemonade that included local honey and herbs from his farm, and the rules had to be enforced. Vendor applications are accepted according to member/vendor-approved rules and regulations, not according to personalities or prejudice.
Kay James, Durango Farmers Market board member
Durango
