A day after the area was struck by a tornado, with heavy damage sustained within just a few miles of the heart of the hamlet, the community came together under dark skies to celebrate the return of its very own Farmers’ Market.

“Yesterday, tornado.Today, Farmers’ Market. That shows you how resilient we are here in the Town of Hanover and Forestville,” said New York state Sen. George Borrello.

The celebration truly showed how tight-knit the community is, as everywhere you looked, someone was giving a hug, taking a photo, or striking up a conversation.

All different levels of leadership in the community were in attendance, including Imagine Forestville members, Town Supervisor Lou Pelletter and Deputy Supervisor Bernie Feldmann, President and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce Dan Heitzenrater, State Assemblyman Andy Goodell, and Borrello.

Fred Farms, owned by Dunkirk’s Roberto Fred, was one of several vendors at the opening celebration for Forestville Farmers’ Market.

Borrello stated his pride for serving the community he grew up in because of events like Thursday’s. As a member of the State’s Agriculture Committee, Borrello said, “I’ve been to a lot of other places that don’t have what we have here. I’m proud of what we have here.”

The Market featured three local farmers setting up shop: Tom DeGolier’s Maple Syrup and Candies, Roberto Fred’s produce from Fred Farms, and Richard Feinen’s produce from Feinen Farms. Several artisans also set up stands featuring handcrafted chairs and benches, birdhouses, pottery and other crafts.

“It is a great tribute to our local agriculture to see these great products here on display,” said Goodell.

Just after 2 p.m. Thursday, Manager of the Market Tom DeGolier welcomed the crowd, which filled the block outside of Cave’s Deli on Main Street, to a round of applause. Thomas Burian, Pastor of First United Presbyterian Church in Silver Creek, then followed with an invocation. Burian shared a passage known as the Farmer’s Prayer.

“Too often, we overlook the gift of the farmers as we grow evermore distant from the processes that bring food to our tables,” Burian stated.

Imagine Forestville, the sponsor of the event, is well aware of all the moving parts of a process to get food in the hands of consumers.

Forestville has recently been part of the Fredonia Farmers’ Market, but Imagine Forestville had always wanted to bring its own event to the quaint hamlet of Forestville for its residents to experience.

“We always dreamed of this. A Forestville Farmers’ Market was always in the back of our mind,” said Imagine Forestville President Aimee Rogers.

The goal was to bring back the community engagement the small hamlet used to have many years ago, long before its dissolution nearly a decade ago.

“Everybody had fond memories of how many people would come in to buy things in the different stores we had,” Imagine Forestville member Nancy Adams said, recalling how Forestville’s streets were often buzzing with activity years ago.

But over the years, as stores closed and people began to leave the neighborhood for work or to shop elsewhere, part of that small town charm started to fade.

“Suddenly, we had empty streets and a community that wasn’t seeing each other anymore,” Adams said.

As Imagine Forestville began to come up with ways to bring back the sense of community of the past, a Farmers’ Market was the route the group wanted to take.

One of the major holdups in the past was the ability to properly insure an event of that nature. The hurdles of finding a spot to hold the event and to attract vendors to the small hamlet were also concerns for Imagine Forestville.

“We thought that it would be impossible. We thought that there wouldn’t be enough business for the farmers to set up. We thought it would be impossible to find a spot that would be available,” Adams said. “… We really thought it was a dim and unlikely possibility.”

But the group tried anyway, and they got a “yes” at every turn, from local farmers to the Hanover Town Board, to even the property owners on Main Street to allow for the tables to be set up.

An important aspect to the Forestville Farmers’ Market is its participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which provides access to fresh produce that many residents would otherwise not be able to afford. Jack Riffle, Executive Director of the New York Federation of Farmers’ Markets, assisted Imagine Forestville in the process of accepting SNAP benefits. Forestville becomes the fifth market in Chautauqua County to accept SNAP benefits.

That ability is not overlooked by Imagine Forestville and the Forestville Food Pantry, which serves 25-30 families per week. The Forestville Food Pantry was founded in 2012. It is funded by donations and is operated by volunteers in the community. The Forestville Food Pantry is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. every Thursday, with an emergency line available by calling (716) 965-2655.

According to Linnea Haskin, Nutrition Resource Educator for the Cornell Cooperative Extension, 36% of Chautauqua County residents do not have access to fruits or vegetables, due to lack of grocery stores in smaller communities and inadequate means of transportation. The presence of farmers’ markets and local food pantries combat those issues.

The Forestville Farmers’ Market is hopeful to attract a local meat vendor and baked goods to join the festivities in the future, as well. “We’re hoping that it will be a market that continues to expand,” Adams said.

The Market is not charging vendors a fee to set up a table this year thanks to Imagine Forestville’s sponsorship.

“Imagine Forestville believes this is so good for the community,” Adams said.

Adams spoke of how the community came together to honor one of their neighbors, Mark Petersen, who recently passed away, noting that the goal of Imagine Forestville is to continue to foster that love between neighbors that Petersen exemplified.

“That’s the community that we’re thinking about and hoping to make stronger,” Adams said.

The Forestville Farmers’ Market is open from 2 to 6 p.m. every Thursday afternoon through September on Main Street in Forestville. If it continues to thrive, the event could extend into October.

“As in the past, shopping at this Farmers’ Market will allow the community residents to socialize and discuss events for the betterment of the community,” Pelletter said. “I wish the Farmers’ Market and Imagine Forestville continued success. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of the community’s past. You can count on my future support.”