The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

The Sisters Farmers Market is hosting a Fundraising Raffle for COVID-19 expenses and Oregon Wildfire Relief funds, featuring three large prizes with values totaling nearly $3,000.

Prizes consist of:

• A 2021 large Seed to Table produce share or $800 gift certificate to the Seed to Table booth at Sisters Farmers Market.

• Private tour and dinner for four on Seed to Table Farm prepared by a local chef.

• Grand prize basket filled with nearly $850 worth of goods from vendors featured at the 2020 Sisters Farmers Market.

Tickets can be purchased through the end of September either online at www.sistersfarmersmarket.com/raffle or in person at Sisters Farmers Market, Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fir Street Park. Winners will be drawn during a live Facebook event on October 1.

With a growing local population and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the market anticipated the heightened need for community members to access a bounty of essential goods in a manner that would be accessible and safe.

It took a great effort to continue the market this year in the face of COVID-19.

These challenges required doubling the number of hours to organize and manage the market, and required more resources to ensure safety and social distancing inside of the market.

Additional physical procedures and digital infrastructure were developed — exceeding national safety standards and leading as an innovator in the region — incorporating an online pre-order option with curbside pickup for contactless access to healthy foods and locally-sourced products.

Despite the ongoing challenges of this time, market attendance has continued to increase, providing vendors with an essential marketplace and further stimulating the local economy.

With the mission to support a healthier community in mind, Sisters Farmers Market sees an urgent need for those impacted directly by the catastrophic wildfires, and hopes to provide an avenue for Central Oregonians to support our devastated communities to the west. Fifty percent of ticket sales from raffle entries will be distributed to wildfire relief efforts through the end of September.

The Sisters Farmers Market continues to draw high-quality vendors and enthusiastic customers from in and out of town. The funds raised through the raffle will allow the Sisters Farmers Market to recover some of this year’s extra costs brought on by COVID, keeping fees low for vendors and leaving the market in a stronger position to continue in the 2021 season.