New manager doubles size of Ledyard Farmers Market
Ledyard — The Ledyard Farmers Market has an obscure history.
Once located next to Starrwood Village Market, it hopped across the street to the town's fairgrounds in 2010, undergoing multiple leadership and ownership changes all the while.
But one thing is sure: With more than 20 regular vendors, compared to about half that number last year, the market is the biggest it's ever been.
When former market manager Allyson Angelini sent out an email early this year that she planned to step down, Jessica Giordani, owner of Preston-based Lucky Girl Bakery, wondered who might take the reins.
She didn't want to see the market go away — she'd just signed on as a vendor the previous summer.
"I thought, 'why not me?'" Giordani said. "I was in her kitchen the next morning having a cup of coffee and figuring what I needed to do to take over."
In the months that followed, Giordani worked to bring more variety to the market, ultimately enlisting vendors with fresh meat, handcrafted wood products, fresh-squeezed lemonade, coffee, cheese, honey and maple syrup and more.
She sought out individuals and companies in the community who became market sponsors, created a booth for community organizations and, importantly, added a food truck rotation to the mix.
With wood-fired pizza truck The Rolling Tomato as the market's weekly flagship, the Uncle D's Blazin' BBQ and Munchies food trucks have also been taking turns participating.
The trucks, Giordani said, make the market "more accessible."
"It's much more manageable to make it to an evening market in the middle of the week, after you're done with work or coming home from the beach, if you can take care of your market experience and dinner in one shot," she explained.
To get the word out, Giordani has been vigilant on social media, expanding the market's Facebook page from 500 to more than 1,500 "likes" in less than half a year.
She emails out a newsletter each week, too, giving potential guests a sneak peek of what vendors are going to have in store.
"You have to keep people engaged throughout the week, not just on Wednesday afternoon," Giordani said.
Vendors have noticed her efforts.
Anita Kopchinski, of Hidden Brook Gardens, spent years at the Village Market iteration of the market. Unsatisfied, she eventually stopped participating.
But, she said, after seeing what Angelini accomplished and the direction Giordani is taking, Kopchinski decided to rejoin the market this year and has "no complaints."
At The Rolling Tomato, where Vic Del Ponte spins pizzas in front of attendees' eyes, Vic's wife, Paula, said there has "definitely" been more foot traffic this year than last.
"People have been talking about it," she said, noting that she and her husband also shop at the market. "And it's not just the residents — you can tell there are people from surrounding towns as well that are coming."
In the future, Giordani hopes to have a full lineup for live music and more vendors, among others things. But, she stressed, the growth must be reasonable and healthy.
"I have a wish list of things I would like: a second full-time food truck, a vendor with seafood, a variety of things," Giordani said. "But we'll take it one season at a time."
The farmers market will take place at the Ledyard fairgrounds every Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. until Oct. 14.
l.boyle@theday.com
Twitter: @LindsayABoyle
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