Birmingham Farmeis
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3,000 customers each Sunday':
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Founders of the Birmingham Farmers Market celebrate a decade of success.
Robin Schwartz
JN Contributing Writer
as consultants.
"It's a great way to support shopping local
and save at the same time Freedman says.
E
very Sunday morning just after
sunrise — from late spring to
early fall — homespun meets
haute at a cozy corner in the affluent city
of Birmingham. Farmers, bakers, crafts-
people and musicians gather in a space offi-
cially known as "public parking lot 6" on the
east side of North Old Woodward Avenue
(across from Salvatore Scallopini restaurant
and Booth Park) to sell fruits, vegetables,
herbs, baked goods, prepared foods, flowers,
plants and hand-crafted items.
There are also weekly cooking dem-
onstrations, arts and crafts activities for
children, and places for neighbors to meet,
mingle and listen to live music.
In all, 70 vendors participate in the
26-week Birmingham Farmers Market
from May-October. Founders and long-
time friends, Stephanie Freedman and Julie
Plotnik, are the market mavens who came
forward as volunteers 10 years ago and
brought the idea to life.
"I visited a farmers market one
Sunday morning in Santa Monica,
Calif: Freedman recalls. "I came home
and thought, 'Wouldn't it be great if
Birmingham had something like that?'"
She and Plotnik (who was running for _
the Birmingham City Commission at the
time) joined forces, drew up the plans,
assembled a committee, and went before
the city commission to get the proper
approval.
The first market opened in September
2003 for a short trial period of eight weeks
with just 17 vendors. Over the years, it has
grown in popularity and quadrupled in
size; an estimated 3,000 customers now
flock to the market each Sunday. The co-
founders are still actively involved.
"We're very proud and thrilled the-.farm-
ers market has become a Birmingham
tradition:' Freedman says. "It's a wonderful
feeling to see people of all ages out there.
People really meet at the farmers market
and that was our vision — to create a
22
August 2 2012
Shopping for produce in Birmingham
place for neighbors and families to meet
and have a relaxing time together!'
Teen Time
The market also provides volunteer
opportunities for local teenagers look-
ing for community service hours and
a way to give back. Freedman and
Plotnik's 16-year-old daughters, Danielle
Jacobson and Jordyn Plotnik, started
the Birmingham Farmers Market Teen
Volunteer Co-op to get their peers more
involved. High school students who sign
up work three-hour or all-day shifts. They
help set up and tear down vendors' booths,
pick up packages, and run the arts and
crafts Kidszone.
"Many teens don't know where to go to
find ways to volunteer:' Danielle said. "We
thought this would be a fun, easy way for
kids to learn about a great community
Julie Plotnik and Stephanie Freedman
service opportunity."
Freedman, 45, and her husband, Josh,
live in Bloomfield Hills with two other
children, Jenna, 14, and Max, 4. Plotnik, 46,
and her husband, Steve, of Birmingham
have an older son, Jake, 18. The busy work-
ing moms juggle multiple responsibilities.
Freedman owns the marketing/branding
company Freedman Communications.
Plotnik served as a Birmingham City
Commissioner from 2003-2007 and works
in the mortgage business.
In addition, the enterprising duo col-
laborated on the Bingham Farms-based
website HipCityDeals. The online daily
resource offers discounts of 50-90 percent
from local merchants, restaurants, cloth-
ing boutiques, spas and destinations. In
June, DBG Networks, the parent corn-
pany of OyWhatADeal.com, purchased
HipCityDeals. The two women still serve
Good For Business
The women say the farmers market is also
good for local businesses. The various
vendors each rent their spaces and keep
the proceeds from all of their sales. Plus,
the market attracts a crowd to a more low-
key part of Birmingham's principal shop-
ping district, which includes 300 retailers,
1.5 million square feet of retail space and
2 million square feet of office space. There
are 10,000 homes within walking distance
of downtown.
"When we selected the site 10 years ago,
that part of town was really quiet:' Plotnik
recalls. "There were a lot of vacant store-
fronts and Booth Park had not yet been
completed. Now, with the addition of the
market, occupancy in that area is almost
100 percent. There are new restaurants
and businesses on both sides of the street."
Upcoming special_ events include a Corn
Festival, Aug. 12, a Harvest Festival, Sept.
16, and an end-of-season celebration,
Oct. 28. The market has a presence on
the social networking websites Facebook
and Twitter and also has its own website
(birminghamfarmersmarket.org ). The co-
founders hope now that they've reached
their 10-year anniversary, the seed of an
idea they planted will continue to grow.
"It's a great opportunity to meet your
local farmers and meet who's growing
your fruits and vegetables:' Plotnik adds.
"We live in such a fast-paced environment;
it's wonderful for children to be exposed to
this at a young age. People just enjoy con-
gregating and enjoying all the market has
to offer. It creates such a nice community
event for six months out of the year!' ❑
The Birmingham Farmers Market is
open Sundays from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
through Oct. 26. For directions
or more information, go to
birminghamfarmersmarket.org .