Farewell, Waterbury Farmers Market: Tradition ends after three decades

March 13, 2025  |  By Julia Streger  |  Community News Service 

Rene Morse, Christine Cameron and Stan Morse at the final Waterbury Farmers Market on Sept. 12. Photo by Gordon Miller

The Waterbury Farmers Market bid farewell on Jan. 27, stirring conversation among town residents about the loss of a local institution for more than three decades.

“When a little farmers market like that closes, the town loses a valuable attraction,” said Alan LePage, former president of the market’s board. 

“Access to fresh vegetables and meats is something that enriches the lives of everybody,” he said later. “The access to fresh locally grown food is something that they’ll miss.”

LePage was one of the founders of the market. He has farmed his whole life and been involved in the markets of Barre, Stowe and Montpelier.

The market witnessed dwindling volunteers and vendors in recent years, along with growing complaints in the last two seasons, manager Christine Cameron said.

“The main reason (for the closure) was that we could not fulfill the board membership to keep on going,” said Cameron, who started as a vendor in 2021 and became manager the following year.  

Stanley and René Morse, board president and secretary, respectively, stepped down at the end of 2024 after seven years. Cameron said farmers market organizers tried to recruit volunteers  and increase board membership but fell short on both.

Catastrophic flooding over the last two seasons also posed a problem for the farmers market. Cameron said one vendor had to end earlier in the season because the flooding destroyed most of their crop.

The top complaint from customers was about the lack of vegetable farms present, Cameron said. 

“Last year people were just looking around — nobody was really buying anything,” she said. “I think that being an evening market was definitely a problem.”

The farmers market took place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays, coinciding with the Rotary Club’s Concerts in the Park series, which puts on shows at 6 p.m. weekly over the summer. Those concerts are set to continue. 

Concerts in the park will return this summer. File photo by Gordon Miller

“The symbiosis of it was awesome,” said Tami Bass, a member and past president of the club. Bass compared those summer evenings to a Norman Rockwell painting, eclectic with families and children. 

Those close to the market nights lament that loss. “The loss of a farmers market is the loss of a social occasion,” LePage said. “That itself is of value.”

Bass said a former vendor reached out to the Rotary, asking if they could still set up during the concert. “That’s not a decision the Rotary Club makes,” Bass said, explaining that potential vendors need approval from town officials. 

Bass said she hopes some people will come out of the woodwork and revive the farmers market board.

Cameron agreed. “I hope somebody does take it over and I would definitely be here to help,”  Cameron said. “When (they) get in there and start to understand the challenges, I don’t know if it’ll keep going.”

Vermont has about 75 farmers markets throughout the state, according to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.

“There’s a few farmers markets on the weekends in the surrounding area that you would be competing with,” Cameron said. “There is a saturation of farmers markets in Vermont.”

And, LePage said, the task of adaptability is tough. “You need to constantly reinvent yourself,” he said. “You need to make sure that you remain agricultural and diverse and not just end up as a spot for a quick lunch.”

For the market to reopen, the whole community needs to get involved, Cameron said.