For the first time last summer, the Kosciusko County Farmers Market LLC made a move to downtown Warsaw where it welcomed more vendors selling locally grown produce and offering their hand-crafted items. This year, the market opens Saturday, May 4, with extended hours and more offerings.

The Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety this morning approved a license agreement with KCFM LLC to utilize the city hall plaza from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday – May 4 through Oct. 26 – and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Wednesday, June 5, through Oct. 30. The agreement calls for the farmers market to pay the city a sum total of $5 per month for use of the plaza.

For the Saturday farmers market, which is being extended 1 hour, Center Street will also be closed from Buffalo to Lake streets. Wednesday evening market times will not require a street closure and will strictly utilize the city hall plaza.

Kegan Burns is president of the KCFM LLC. He told the B.O.W. members today, “The events of the past have shaped our vision of the future. Centralizing the market is beneficial to our customers,” he explained.

Burns said other changes in the market this season will be the addition of entertainment on many Saturdays and also the partnering with Combined Community Services, which started a client’s choice health food options food pantry. At the end of each Saturday’s market, a representative from CCS will collect any remaining fresh produce the local vendors want to donate.

To be a member of KCFM LLC and be able to serve as a vendor, a member application and a minimal annual fee is required. Each time a vendor sets up to sell goods, there is an additional minimal fee of $3. The purpose of the fees is to assure that members are honoring the city’s rules and regulations that produce – be it fruits, vegetables, plants, flowers, etc. – are grown in Kosciusko County and that even craft items are made by local residents.