MCFFEE's Old World Christmas Market set for Nov 17-19 in downtown Menominee

Gives for coffee lovers at the 2015 market.

The Menominee Farm & Food Exchange, organizers of the four-year-old Menominee Old World Christmas Market, is one step closer to achieving its dream of a true European-style outdoor market in 2017.

The holiday event, which has drawn as many as 1,200 shoppers in the past, is moving to a heated tent in downtown Menominee. It will be held on Nov. 17-18, in conjunction with Downtown Menominee’s popular weekend open house.

Thanks to a cooperative effort with the city of Menominee and the Menominee Downtown Business Association, the Christmas Market will be located in a large tent at Great Lakes Memorial Marina Park. 

Private donations will help fund the tent. 

“European holiday markets are held outdoors, with vendors in huts,” says Cody. “Markets are held for days, sometimes weeks at a time, and include food booths as well as booths that sell snacks, gifts and decorations. In Menominee the potential for chilly breezes off the bay make the heated tent a necessity,” says Glen Cody, a Christmas market organizer.

Cody and about 25 other area residents are part of the Menominee County Farm & Food Exchange, which organizes the Christmas market as well as the weekly M&M Farmers Market. Several of the organizers have attended similar markets in Germany and the United States over the years.

Typically, shoppers stroll down aisles decorated with Christmas lights, listen to the strains of carolers, and savor the aroma of German food.

“We’ll try our best to duplicate that atmosphere this year,” says Lisa Hilbelink, another organizer.  “Our goal is to recreate the feeling that visitors are attending a traditional market in Germany.”

For the first time, the market will be open two days, instead of one. It will operate from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, in conjunction with the holiday parade and tree lighting.

Market organizers will accept up to 25 vendors this year, especially vendors who make Christmas decorations or gift items or items typically found at European-style markets, including hand-blown glass, woolens, lace, German smoking men and other woodenware, hand-carved nutcrackers, Swedish dala horses and felt ornaments, Ukrainian decorated eggs (pysanky), Russian nesting dolls, lace, blown glass, Scandinavian straw ornaments, Delft ornaments from Holland and other Old World crafts.

Criteria for selection will be available on the market’s Facebook page by July 25.

Forms are available by emailing menomineexmasmarket@hotmail.com or by calling 715-923-2198.

Gift baskets are always big sellers.

But wreaths and other decorations top everyone's list.

How the M&M Farmers Market Impacts the Community

Outside of Jack's Fresh Market, every Saturday morning, 9-noon.

The M&M Farmers Market, operated by the Menominee County Farm & Food Exchange, is one of six Michigan farm markets to participate in a community impact study from November, 2015 to December, 2016.

(Allow us to brag a bit.)

The study was coordinated by the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA), and supported by a Rural Business Development Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The local year-round M&M Farmers Market is held at the M&M Plaza. In May through mid-October, it is located outside of Jack’s Fresh Market. During colder weather, the market moves indoors to the Mighty Pet entrance, east of the Plaza’s clock tower.

Established in mid-2013, the market relocated to the M&M Plaza in 2016 after three years at the VFW Hall on US 41.

The M&M Farmers Market has more than two-dozen vendors who sell produce, eggs, meat, baked goods, honey, jams, coffee, pasta, bedding plants and a variety of locally-made craft items, including soaps, lotions, and fiber items. Vendors come from both side of the Menominee River.

It’s one of about 300 similar markets in the state of Michigan, according to MIFMA. That number is up from about 150 markets ten years ago.

As statewide market numbers grew, MIFMA leaders saw a need to assess the economic contributions open-air farm markets make to Michigan’s rural communities.  Thus the study was initiated.

Results show a wide range of positive economic activity for the rural communities that support and provide space for a vibrant farmers market atmosphere, say MIFMA officials.

By creating a thriving marketplace on a weekly basis, farmers markets offer community members a unique experience to gather, interact, and build relationships, according to MIFMA officials. As a community gathering place, markets can shape growth, foster economic development, and strengthen communities, the report shows.

In 2016, vendors at the M&M Farmers Market brought in an estimated $38,105 directly to their businesses, and returned three times more to the local economy than chain retailers, according to survey results.

The average distance food travels from farm to the local market is only 15 miles. Market vendors cultivate more than 252 acres of farmland, which does not include acres cultivated by area growers who do not attend the market but sell produce through other growers who do attend.

In 2016, the M&M Farmers Market accepted $1,380 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit dollars, which supported the market’s commitment to ensuring that fresh produce is available to all families in the local community.

In addition, the study indicated that 48 percent of market shoppers said they planned to shop at neighboring businesses on market days.

The M&M Farmers Market is open every Saturday from 9 to noon at the M&M Plaza. For more information, find the market on Facebook under M&M Farmers Market (https://www.facebook.com/MandMFarmersMarket/)

We help entrepreneurs get started!

In addition to the weekly market, Menominee County Farm & Food Exchange members coordinate the annual Menominee Old World Christmas Market, a European-style holiday market to be held Nov. 17-18 in Downtown Menominee.

Why eat local?

If you are reading this, chances are you already know the benefits of buying food from local vendors when you visit the Menominee County Farm & Food Exchange.

You know that…

Local food is fresher and more flavorful. In most cases, the produce at our market was picked within the day before sale. No cross-country travel for our fruits and vegetables! Because of this, it’s also more nutritious.

Buying local enables you to learn from growers how the food was grown. Our growers will happily talk to you about their produce and sometimes even share favorite recipes. Same goes for the vendors who offer honey, wine, baked goods and other products for sale at the M&M Farmers Market.

Locally-produced food is safer. The fewer steps between harvest and your market basket mean fewer opportunities for contamination.

Eating locally allows you to eat seasonally, savoring strawberries in mid-summer and chomping on apples in October. Eating seasonal foods offers another way to enjoy each of our four seasons. Of course, you can always freeze summer produce to enjoy all year long.

Eating locally helps support the local economy. The money you spend is in turn spent close to home by people you know. Your local food purchase also helps maintain local farmland and green space.

If you know someone who’s not convinced, just print this article and hand it to them. Make ‘em believe!

Source: Michigan State University Extension

Who are we and what do we offer you?

Just what is the Menominee County Farm & Food Exchange?

We are a group of local growers, small-batch food and beverage makers, artisans, craftspeople and community volunteers who believe in the many benefits of eating and buying local.

We bring you the weekly M&M Farmers Market (and the annual Old World Christmas Market).

On a typical Saturday, you'll find us offering baked goods, locally-brewed specialty coffee, honey, jam, syrup, noodles, eggs, chicken, and in growing season - which has been extended thanks to hoop houses - onions, garlic, shallots, leeks, greens, potatoes, carrots, beets, beans, broccoli, cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, apples, berries and much more. Our vendors also offer fabric items, from purses and diaper bags to rag rugs. We have several vendors who sell wooden items, such as bowls, birdhouses and cutting boards. Other vendors offer locally-produced soaps, creams and lotions.

Come visit us, 9 a.m. to noon. We're currently inside the Mighty Pet entrance, east of the clock tower at M&M Plaza. Come May, we'll move outside to the other end of the mall, near the entrance to Jack's Fresh Market.

Join a growing farmers market!

The Menominee County Farm & Food Exchange, established in 2013, is composed of growers, small-batch food makers, craftspeople and community volunteers. Together we provide a weekly venue for the sale of local products directly to consumers.

Our market is held Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the M&M Plaza in Menominee.

Through this market and our annual Old World Christmas Market, we promote locally grown products while providing a vibrant community gathering place.

Our vendors bring homegrown vegetables, fruit and herbs as well as farm-raised poultry and meat, eggs, coffee, honey, jams, baked goods, and wine to the market. They are joined by local craftspeople who offer homemade soaps and lotions, woodcrafts, jewelry and much more.

We are seeking farmers, avid gardeners, small food producers, hobbyists, and entrepreneurs to join us. Ideal candidates make, grow, raise, or somehow enhance what they sell.

Some items sold, subject to approval, may be from other local producers or they may be items related to your primary product if state law allows.

One of our goals is to help people find fresh, local food. The market facilitates various food and local food-access programs. Participation is encouraged but voluntary. If you sell food items you will definitely benefit: One farmer reported 40% of 2016 sales were the result of food-access programs!

Please note: Food products from Wisconsin home kitchens are not allowed at Michigan markets under the Michigan Cottage Food Law. 

In late 2016, we moved our market to the M&M Plaza, a centrally located shopping venue established in 1967. During cold weather (November through April), we are located east of the clocktower, inside the Mighty Pet entrance.

During warmer weather, usually May through October, we are located outside Jack’s Fresh Market.

If you are a grower, producer, food artisan or craftsperson who seeks a venue for selling your product, please visit us on market day, call us at (906) 639-3377, or email us at info.mcffe@gmail.com for more information.