MUKILTEO – Eden Trenor came home to Mukilteo from college and saw something she felt needed changing.
“I didn’t really feel a sense of community,” she said. “After speaking with a number of others I found that was a pretty common sentiment.”
So, having worked on organic farms in the past, the solution to Trenor, 22, was obvious: start a farmers market.
She spoke to longtime family friend Eileen Hinds, a former Mukilteo City Council member, about how to approach the city.
“She wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Hinds said. “It’s good to see a young person that passionate.”
Trenor gave a couple of presentations to the City Council and Mayor Don Doran, and in the span of a month, the city had agreed to lease her the ball field at 304 Lincoln Ave., next to the Rosehill Community Center, for $63 per week. Having incorporated the market as a nonprofit organization, she won’t have to pay a business license fee.
The market will be open 4-8 p.m. Thursdays from July 22 until September.
“We essentially got out of her way and allowed her to use her creativity and energy to get it off the ground,” Doran said.
Trenor became interested in food as an environmental studies major at Oberlin College in Ohio, studying the effect of technology and chemicals on food. She called John Hegemann of the Fremont Farmers Market in Seattle, whom she calls her mentor, for advice about how to get the market started.
She went to other markets in the area and spoke with vendors, and joined the state Farmers Market Association. Afterwards, vendors began contacting her.
The market will focus only on food items, with the possibility of expanding into crafts later, Trenor said.
Though she’s a believer in organic food, the market won’t be restricted in that regard.
“I think it’s important to support local agriculture,” she said.
Doran said the last time an effort was made to start a farmers market in Mukilteo, the organizers were discouraged by city regulations and gave up. This time, the city made things easier, he said.
“I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for the city and for Eden at the same time,” Doran said.
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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