OUR HISTORY, MISSION, + GOVERNANCE
Milt Meisner and Doc Posner brainstormed the Hudson Farmers’ Market in the winter and early spring of 1997. Milt visited the Saratoga Farmers’ Market with his daughter and had the idea to bring a farmers’ market to Hudson which had just seen it’s only grocery store close their doors. Milt and Doc wanted to support small farmers and start-ups who had no other outlets to sell their produce. As hard as it is to imagine, at the time the direct line from farm-to-customer was something of a rarity.
Virginia Ambrose (of Scarecrow Farm) shared: “Milt went door to door, barn to barn, and farm to farm asking for farmers to come together to form the market.” Many said no, but he was able to find a few who were interested in founding the HFM and take a chance on a community that needed assistance with access to fresh local foods. So, with sponsorship from the Mayor’s Office, the Hudson Farmers’ Market started it’s first season in the municipal lot at 6th and Columbia St with 5 vendors.
There were vegetables, eggs, honey, soaps, herbal oils, tree fruit, cactus, plants, and yarn. It was slower in the early years, but vendors hung on and customers eventually came with regularity. Gradually, the items and offerings started to increase— but always within a very specific framework that was established in the early days.
The vendors of the Hudson Farmers’ Market nurtures our individual projects, push each other to innovate season after season, and keep the vision alive that was established 27 years ago by our founders. It may look different than what Milt and Doc originally intended, but the core ethics still remain the same— producers willing to take a risk, customers willing to show up, and the magic that happens when we collaborate.
A huge thanks to both Columbia County and the City of Hudson for hosting us after so many years!
HISTORY
MISSION
The Hudson Farmers' Market strives to provide Columbia County residents (and visitors) with convenient access to high quality, locally produced items from growers and artisans from the surrounding area. Our market provides farmers and producers with a direct outlet for their products and a customer base interested in supporting our local economy.
Each season we focus on efforts to bring access and opportunity to more people by way of our participation in the SNAP/EBT, FreshConnect, WIC, and FMNP programs. We have paired up with local non-profits and organizations to give as much info to our customers as possible about the services that are available within our community. You can read about some of our outreach efforts here and here.
GOVERNANCE
The Hudson Farmers' Market acts a 501c-6 business league, with 30+ producers committed in their yearly participation and growth. Each owner is working together to progress both their individual businesses and the market as a whole.
The Hudson Farmers' Market operates solely under the guidance our vendors. Once voted in, each Main Season vendor has an equal say in the direction of our market. This means that any and all decisions are put up for debate and eventually a vote-- everything from the coming year's budget to new vendors to our community engagement plan.
This is a unique organization in that we do not have local government officials or customers on our board like many of the other regional farmers' markets. We govern autonomously. With that said, we are always working in collaboration with-- and in consideration of-- the city, the county, the state, and our customers.
We are members of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and the Farmers Market Federation of New York.
