By Amanda Ensinger
Staff Writer
Prairie Township residents will enjoy a variety of returning and new summer programming at the community center.
Among the returning programming is the annual Prairie Township Farmer’s Market. This year, the market will include about 15 vendors that will sell everything from jams, fresh vegetables, fruits and meats.
“The market will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. every Monday from June 11 to the end of September,” said Michael Pollack, Prairie Township Community Center facility supervisor. “We also will have three special event days during the market where special children’s activities will take place.”
These special event days will be June 11, July 9 and Aug. 13 and the activities will range from a petting zoo to special food trucks to library displays.
“The goal of these activities is to attract additional people who haven’t heard about the market,” Pollack said. “Our hope is once they come, they will continue to come back.”
Other features of the 2018 market will include an increasing presence of food trucks, new partnerships to help area seniors enjoy the market and the continued partnership with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help low income residents have access to fresh produce.
“We are trying to have food trucks at each market this year. We have several scheduled already, including Schmidt’s,” Pollack said. “We also are partnering with the Franklin County Health Department and CHAT to help seniors come to the market that otherwise aren’t able to.”
Focusing on the Lincoln Village neighborhood, the Clintonville Resource Center will be shuttling seniors from the neighborhood who don’t have other transportation to the market. Pollack said the reason they are focusing on this region is because there is a large number of seniors in this neighborhood who don’t have the resources to otherwise get out of the house.
Finally, the market will once again be participating in Produce Perks Midwest and SNAP participants can use their benefits to pay for produce and other food items at the market.
“If SNAP recipients purchase $20 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables, they will receive an additional $20,” Pollack said. “This additional money must be used on fruits and vegetables as well.”
Currently, the market has open slots for additional vendors and food trucks. If you are interested in being a vendor or learning more about the market, visit www.prairietownship.org/219/Farmers-Market.
Besides the farmer’s market, the community center also has a variety of returning and new activities for children this summer.
Among these activities is the annual summer camp. This camp, which is run out of Darby Woods Elementary School, will take place from June 6 through Aug. 10. The camp is for children between the ages of 6 and 12 years old and takes place from 7:15 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“Some of the activities kids can do at camp include arts and crafts, playing on the playground, swimming at the community center and playing board games,” said Jeremy Dean, Prairie Township Community Center recreation supervisor. “We also have field trips, including to COSI, bowling and going to the movies.”
Another camp the community center is offering is the Kids Fit Camp, which takes place Aug. 13-17 for kids between the ages of 6 and 12 years old.
“This camp will focus on fun fitness activities for kids, including strength, cardio and coordination,” Dean said. “We also will have a basketball camp from June 18-22 that will teach kids good sportsmanship, game play and other fun activities.”
For more information on summer activities going on at the community center, visit www.prairietownship.org.
