Townspeople would love to see an expanded Farmer’s Market at Fairfield Hills, said Jim Shortt, whose farmstand is one of the anchors there. Other markets in the state offer more variety and cater to the desires of today’s shopper, he said, with selections of jams, jellies, baked goods, wines, oils, prepared foods, and sandwiches.

But why Newtown’s market offers such a limited selection is complicated, both town officials and local farmers agree.

The Farmer’s Market at Fairfield Hills began as an all-organic market in Sandy Hook Center, said Mary Fellows, who has served as the local market master since its inception in July 2003. The market began in the parking lot behind St John’s Episcopal Church on Washington Avenue, and was also temporarily located at the former Lexington Gardens site on Church Hill Road, for part of one summer. Then it was back to St John’s, before the market requested permission to hold the June to October market at Fairfield Hills.

The scenic setting has been home to the market for the past five seasons, Ms Fellows said, although even there, residents have had to play a bit of hide and seek to find the Farmer’s Market.

For one year, it was located near the old entrance to Fairfield Hills; the next two years found the market set up across from the soccer fields, in the shadow of the now-demolished Danbury Hall. Shoppers have found the market next to Shelton House, just down from the Municipal Center, this season and the previous two seasons. The Fairfield Hills location is centrally located, and that was the draw to moving the market to that site, Ms Fellows said.

Since setting up at Fairfield Hills, though, the market master found that restrictions seem to go against the growth of the market, as farmers and customers would like to see.

“My job is to bring in more vendors for the public,” said Ms Fellows, but she has felt that the town has not supported ideas that might expand the market. Food trucks are not allowed; food prepared onsite and sold for immediate consumption is also not allowed.

“The food truck movement really connects with people,” Ms Fellows said. “It’s a great way for chefs to introduce their food to the public, and for the public to sample new foods,” she said.

Fare that is more “gourmet” would be a draw, she said, and she would love to see a vendor with baked goods at the Farmer’s Market at Fairfield Hills. Once upon a time, said Ms Fellows, the local market did have a vendor selling cookies, sandwiches, and salads, but that vendor cannot sell at Fairfield Hills.

“I get calls from home growers who want to come, but they have to be registered with the state,” Ms Fellows lamented.

The problem, said George Benson, director of land use in Newtown, is that prior to the market requesting space at Fairfield Hills, a farmer’s market was not allowed on the property. It is impossible to list all enterprises not allowed on town property, Mr Benson explained, so regulations list those enterprises that are allowed. Fairfield Hills is regulated by a special district, the Fairfield Hills Adaptive Reuse Zone. A special regulation was written to allow a farmer’s market at Fairfield Hills, based on the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CGS 22-6r) definition of a Certified Farmer’s Market, and “in compliance with the Newtown Zoning Farmer’s Market definition.”

The market master was cautioned at the time, said Mr Benson, that she might not be happy with the restrictions, if the market moved to Fairfield Hills.

The Newtown zoning definition of a Farmer’s Market is of “a seasonal outdoor event where items are offered for sale to the general public, such goods as fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants, flowers, eggs honey, maple syrup, dairy products, jams, jellies and baked foods and seasonal items, including Christmas trees, cemetery baskets, etc. Temporary Food Establishments (as defined by the CT Public Health Code) are not allowed. (Amended 7/15/10).”

Items offered for sale, Mr Benson said, must be Connecticut grown or made from Connecticut grown produce. The regulation is restrictive, he agreed, but it is in keeping with the town’s Fairfield Hills Master Plan, of using the campus for community events. The Farmer’s Market, Mr Benson said, is the only for-profit group regularly allowed at Fairfield Hills.

So far as the restrictions go, “We have to have a break-off point, and to me, a farmer’s market is going to sell farm produce,” he said. It is a matter of degrees as to what is going to be allowed on Fairfield Hills property. “We want to accommodate [the Farmer’s Market] as much as possible. There has to be regulation and a limit on what we can and can’t do,” Mr Benson said. Regulations are put in place not to stymie “good people,” but to prevent dishonest people from taking advantage of situations, he said.

Mr Benson suggested that a move back to Sandy Hook Center might open up possibilities for the Farmer’s Market, and be beneficial to that area of town, as well.

However, vendors find that parking is a particular problem in Sandy Hook Center, discouraging customers from shopping.

“Sandy Hook Center is great, but St John’s [Episcopal Church] is a little off the beaten path and that area is so congested,” said Sara Blersch, of Daffodil Hill Growers in Southbury. She and husband Dan Slywka have had a booth at the Farmer’s Market in Newtown for the past five years.

“There are not a lot of options in the Center,” said Ms Blersch. A move to the Center would be, she feared, “a backward move.”

Customers have observed that fewer vendors seem to be onsite at the market, but her regular customers have been faithful, said Ms Blersch.

“We’ve had more to sell this year and more variety, so we have seen an increase,” she said.

As market master for the Farmers’ Market in Southbury, Ms Blersch said there is a big difference in foot traffic between the two markets. The market master there has the right to refuse a potential vendor on the spot, and also is the one to bring inquiries to the market board.

“We’re careful to have a good mix,” she said, and food trucks, which are allowed only during the weekly Farmers’ Market, have been popular.

The Southbury market, she said, does receive funding from the town for advertising and that may be critical.

“We do a whole lot of marketing in Southbury. People need reminders, in their face, all the time,” Ms Blersch said, in order for the weekly markets to thrive.

“We have a whole gym full of health conscious people,” she said, referring to Newtown Youth Academy, located just yards up the road from the market at Fairfield Hills.

“Why aren’t people stopping on the way home?” she asked. “We have to work on our marketing, to let more people know.”

Daffodil Hill is content, for now, to remain at Fairfield Hills, said Ms Blersch, and hopefully tap into customers who are on campus.

While Ms Fellows contended that applicants are being turned down, Suzette LeBlanc, Newtown’s health inspector, said that she has not received new applications this year.

“Last year, we did approve a pie person, but they did not reapply this year,” she said. “The only bakery that applied is the one that is currently there,” Ms LeBlanc said, so it is not a matter of her not approving applications.

“The market master is responsible for getting vendors and forwarding those applications to the health inspector and Planning and Zoning, so that I can verify they have certification,” said Ms LeBlanc.

As health inspector, Ms LeBlanc must verify that each vendor is licensed with the Department of Consumer Protection, and that any food is prepared in a licensed kitchen. Applicants must apply 14 days in advance of the market, but Ms LeBlanc said that in the past she has gone out of her way to accommodate last minute applications.

“If we can get the information last minute, we’re all about filling the void [at the Farmers’ Market]. It’s a matter of verifying if a vendor is safe and regulated. But they need to offer things that are approved for Fairfield Hills,” Ms LeBlanc explained.

Ms LeBlanc also noted that the local Farmers’ Market would run into fewer issues regarding vendors, if the market was not on the Fairfield Hills campus.

“The site is an issue as the market wants to expand. There is a system and the system is driven by the market master. Changes can be made to address concerns,” said Ms LeBlanc. “We would love this to be a successful market.”

Moving does not seem like much of an option, Mr Shortt said, so he hopes to take steps that will grow the market next year and appease the Fairfield Hills regulations. He already made contact with a few vendors from other markets.

“I’ve encouraged them to apply here. I don’t mind doing the legwork,” he said.

“My position is that I’ll try to better the market by trying to get vendors, and follow up with a letter for consideration,” Mr Shortt said. “I’ll be asking permission to reword [the regulation] to expand the market,” he said.

“George [Benson] and Suzette [LeBlanc] have always been helpful. If that’s what you’ve got to work with, I’ll work with them and see if we can make exceptions to benefit the Farmers’ Market, or not. It is what it is,” Mr Shortt said.