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A New Vision For The Farmers Market
With the improvements to the Forked Deer River Park in 2018 and 2019, it was decided by the Dyersburg-Dyer County Chamber of Commerce staff that the current Farmers Market facility was in need a makeover.
Chamber staff started exploring potential funding opportunities to repair the facility, update the appearance, and fix long-standing safety issues such as uneven floors and torn metal siding.
By early 2022, the Chamber of Commerce realized that it needed professional assistance to help develop concepts for the renovation.
In February, 2022, staff applied
for a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture of $12,000, to be matched with $3,000 of its own funds, to hire an architectural firm
to study the 27,000 sq. ft. open-air building.
After receiving the grant award, the Chamber selected Loony Ricks Kiss architects out of Memphis, and the study was delivered in February, 2023.
With the architectural concepts in hand, along with a budget developed by Forcum-Lannom Contractors, the Chamber sought funding from a variety of sources, realizing that the facility
had elements that appealed to a wide range of state and federal agencies.
1.Provided healthy food alternatives to an underserved community. The Main Street Dyersburg Farmers Market is located in a Census Tract designated as a food desert.
2.The Farmers Market stage is used for a variety of arts and cultural performances. An expanded stage combined with a new exterior stage could serve community festivals, movies, community theater, and concerts.
3.Many food-based entrepreneurs are already using the Farmers Market as a “food incubator,” testing their market and refining their products.
4.Dyer County’s largest industry is agriculture. Smaller producers use the Farmers Market to sell their produce and the market could serve as a catalyst for diversifying our agricultural sector into higher value-added enterprises.
5.The Farmers Market could help support tourist promotion with larger festivals and events.
From that point on, multiple grant applications were submitted to a private foundation and a host of state and federal agencies. To date, the
Chamber has not been turned down for a single request.
Construction on the Farmers Market will be ongoing through 2024.
Commitments secured for enhancements to the Farmers Market include:
-Tyson Foundation - $50,000
-TN Arts Commission (stage) - $81,900
-TN Tourism & Hospitality Fund (stage lighting) - $37,500
-City of Dyersburg (permeable parking, food truck connections, bioswales) - $500,000
-T-Mobile Hometown Grants (replace damaged siding) - $31,500
-Delta Regional Authority - $216,000
-TN Department of Tourist Development (exterior stage, grant made through City application) - $100,000
-Dyersburg Rotary Club (blow-up screen, projector, sound system for “Movies at the Market”) - $11,310
-TN Department of Agriculture - $150,000
15 DESTINATION