The Cheyenne River Youth Project is proud to announce the opening day of the Leading Lady Farmers Market on Friday, June 13th for the 2014 season. The market will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the CRYP parking lot. The market will continue every Friday until the growing season concludes later this Summer. Additionally, CRYP also accepts EBT cards in order to provide healthy produce and fresh goods to community members of all economic backgrounds.
The market will offer fresh, naturally grown, non-GMO produce from CRYP’s own two-acre garden, and will also feature dried and canned goods, according to Ryan Devlin, CRYP’s Sustainable Agriculture Manager. Crafts and other merchandise from the gift shop will be available, as well as hand-made arts and crafts from the CRYP staff, including original paintings – the proceeds of which will benefit the organization’s Jr. Volunteer Program.
The market is also open to any local entrepreneurs who would like to sell their own homemade crafts, baked goods or home grown produce. Those interested in becoming vendors should visit the CRYP front desk to fill out an application. The vendor fee for the opening market will be waived, and all vendors will have a tent and table available free of charge for the entirety of the first market. CRYP encourages vendors of all ages to participate.
“Our purpose for the Winyan Toka Win Garden and the Farmers’ Market is to facilitate economic development for both CRYP and our tribal members to become self-sustaining through food sovereignty and entrepreneurship,” says Julie Garreau, CRYP’s founder and executive director. “We believe in the power of community development and the empowerment to create your own success story – whether you’re growing vegetables or creating arts and crafts to earn a living or supplement your income.”
The Winyan Toka Win (“Leading Lady”) Farmer’s Market started in 2010 as a venue for CRYP to sell its fresh produce and canned goods to the community from its organic garden. Since that time, the market has grown to include 10 local vendors thanks to a Northwest Area Foundation Grant that funded the purchase of market tents and tables to assist in small business development.
“The market strives to be a venue that promotes healthy food system building on Cheyenne River,” says Devlin, who earned his bachelors in Agricultural Science from Cornell University in New York. “Our ultimate goal is to become a local engine of successful community-based small scale entrepreneurship.”
For more information on the Farmers’ Market, please contact Ryan Devlin at sustainableag.cryp@gmail.com or at 605-964-8200. For more information on the Cheyenne River Youth Project or to donate please go to www.lakotayouth.org. Or follow us at www.facebook.com/lakotayouth or www.twitter.com/lakotayouth for news and updates.
Founded in 1988, the Cheyenne River Youth Project is dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities, ensuring strong, self-sufficient families and communities. Today, CRYP provides a wide variety of programs and services to the community, covering nearly 3 million acres in South Dakota. To learn more about CRYP, visit www.lakotayouth.org.