Richfield Farmers Market with Judy Greenfield

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And by things, I mean people, organizations, places, businesses, and a bunch of other whatnots. On this week's show, I'm joined by Judy Greenfield. Judy is the founder of the all new Richfield Farmer's Market, which kicks off its inaugural year this year. How exciting is that? Also, totally just realized that my guest's name is Judy Greenfield, and we're talking about a farmer's market.

Green, field, Farmer's Market. How cool and fun is that? We'll put all that nonsense aside and get on with the show. With that, here are 15 minutes on the Richfield Farmers Market with Judy Greenfield on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.

Alright, Judy, thank you for joining me today. So we're here to talk about the all new Richfield Farmers Market. What got you inspired to start a farmer's market in Richfield?

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So in both of those places, farmer's markets are a normal thing. It's just there. It's been there for hundreds of years. So then, you know, when I, when I came to Wisconsin, I noticed Wisconsin is very into farmer's markets, but not in Richfield. And I always wondered why, and I always thought, okay, somebody's going to open one here for sure.

So 10 years went by in a blink of an eye and still, you know, there wasn't one opened. And, last summer. My husband and I, we started traveling all over Wisconsin and going to farmer's markets. But there was one particular one in Sheboygan that just got me. It was, you know, a beautiful June day. We were there with the kids, having a great time.

And I just stopped and I said, why don't we have one in Richfield? And I'm like, I should start one. My husband and my daughter, they're like, do it, do it. So I laughed, you know, we got back home and the thoughts swirled around in my head for a while, but I really didn't, didn't act on it. Then I had, I had read something that was pretty profound.

It said, if you want, You know, an excellent life, you have to create it. And it touched me so deeply. And so I said, you know what, I'm going to do it.

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And I'm like, I really wish there was something more positive for people to consume. And, and then I was like, well, if I'm going to say that I should probably act upon it. So that's why we started this show in order to try to bring out the positive things happening in the area. So, and, and again, that's why we're here to talk about this.

So you are starting the Richfield Farmer's Market. Can you give us a little bit of the process behind starting something like this? I assume it's a lot of work.

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And if I do it, how does a village feel about it? And they were very supportive, but we all knew that because this was new, there would be many things that would have to take place. And I would say from that conversation to when it got approved by the village was about 40 or so meetings.

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Okay.

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There's a lot involved.

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And they all were so on board, they had a million questions and I was kind of like a deer in headlights, but it let me know that, you know what? There's real interest. There's support behind this. And that was kind of the fuel that I needed to really, you know, go with this idea. And then, you know, it seemed like people came out of the woodworks to help me and a farmer's market board was formed.

Okay. And the experience of the people in this group is just unbelievable. We have a former CPA, we have a project manager who is also a vendor at another market. We had someone who just graduated college with, you know, a focus on environmentalism. So, between the four of us, It's been fantastic.

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So, the village suggested what about Fireman's Park? There wasn't a lot of room for growth or parking over there, so that wasn't a good You know, location and then out of the woodworks, the Richfield Historical Society said, you know what? How about us? How about over here? Which I didn't even think was a possibility and they were so warm and welcoming.

And so we explored that area and that's where we ended up landing the nature. Park part of the park

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So, all over Wisconsin, there's different kinds of farmer's markets. Some allow mass manufactured goods from stores, some don't, they're all different. We decided for ours, that's not the vision we wanted to go with, so it's producer's only, which means you have to grow it, you have to make it, create it, bake it.

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So it's Saturdays and this is something different we're doing too, because based on my research farmers markets are starting to change a little bit. They're starting to become more of a social gathering and not just a place to go and get your vegetables. It's somewhere people want to go socialize and eat.

So we do have food trucks also so people can grab lunch there. So Do a little bit of shopping and, you know, say hi to their neighbors, say hi to the vendors, see where there's their food is grown by, you know, the farmers and learn about it.

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m.

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So that it's going to start off as year one.

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And so we're like, you know what? Why not bring them home? Let them sell where they live, let them buy where they live, this is the perfect location, it's absolutely beautiful, the park itself is just a hidden gem.

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It's just beautiful. And you're right, there is kind of that, that void in between Menomonee Falls and Hartford and West Bend and those kind of places. This is sounding really cool. So what are your long term goals for the farmers market in Richfield?

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And, you know, One of the things that I was asked when starting this was what about the other markets, the neighboring markets? Are you going to make them close down? No, and I will tell you firsthand, because I've been in meetings with other market managers, there's no one cheering us on. Better than, than them.

They want this to succeed because they believe in the farmer market, vision for Wisconsin to be able to ride, fresh produce, to support farmers, to support local communities, to support the environment. It's so wholesome. It's for, everyone from newborn to a hundred years old.

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You can take your family there, bring the strollers or just go by yourself and And get lunch. And, and again, going back to that, it's kind of that rising tide raises all ships kind of mentality that the more that this is supported, the more than other farmers and vendors will be able to support their businesses as well.

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And they've been here all along this journey, and I'm sure they're going to be there to grow with us.

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People go to work, come home, go to sleep, and there's not much else going on there. And we don't really have an area for that social gathering. And what is so interesting about Nature Park, it was originally intended as that, because there was a farm there that, they would have, Mill grinding and stuff like that.

And people would go there and chat with their neighbors because farming was pretty lonely. So that was the watering hole way back in the day. And so we're kind of rejuvenating that in a new way. So it's going to be a place where, like I said, all ages can come, can be social, can support farmers, and can have a nice time on the weekend.

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com. Just be sure to spell out the word 15. And while the phone's in your hand, if you don't want to email, you could always text me 2 6 2 2 9 9 fuzz 2 6 2 2 9 9 3 8 9 9. You could even leave me a voicemail if you want, but I prefer text. Subscribe to the show at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, fifteenwithfuzz.com or wherever you listen to podcasts, you little goofball. And I'll join you next Tuesday, right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.