Shoppers flocked to the Farmers Market at the Capitol this week to support local businesses, parsing booths for fresh fruits, vegetables and goodies. Something was missing, though — an abundance of produce.
Signs dotting the farmers market acknowledged the absence, citing several reasons — one being the destructive ice storm that ravaged northern Michigan in March.
The next day, WKAR News visited the Meridian Township Farmers Market in Okemos to see if it was the same story.
There were a few booths selling produce, but most vendors offered trinkets, jewelry, baked goods and sauces.
For more answers, we spoke with Jenny Radon, programs director for the Michigan Farmers Market Association. She said the two-day ice storm caused serious problems for farmers.
“There was a lot of destruction from the weight of the ice, trees coming down,” she said. “A lot of farmers had damage to their land or damage to their infrastructure that made it able for them to farm.”
This presented expensive and difficult challenges for farmers heading into the growing season, she said.
“They’re either not able to use barns or equipment that they would typically be using, or they’re delayed because they had to make repairs or fully rebuild in general,” Radon said.
Some help should be on the way. This week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that President Donald Trump approved up to $50 million in federal funding for ice storm recovery.