1/21/2022 UPDATE
The Winter Market will NOT be held on Saturday, January 22nd.
Beginning Saturday, January 29th the Winter Market will be held at 476 Holiday Dr in Rutland, The Cortina Inn (formerly the Holiday Inn). The market will be held during regular hours, 10am-2pm, in the ballroom and foyer areas of the conference center.
We want to thank all of our loyal vendors and shoppers for supporting us during this difficult time.
Thank you for continuing to shop local and for supporting your local farmers market and farmers! We’ll see you at the market!
As most of you now know trichloroethylene (TCE) was detected in indoor air samples at the VFFC. The concentrations found exceed the indoor air standard for TCE. TCE was most likely used as an industrial degreaser at the site during the 1960’s and 1970’s and has been present since. TCE is also an ingredient in many commonly used products such as carpet cleaners, oven cleaner, as a stain and spot remover in dry cleaning, spray coatings for arts and crafts and many other products.
We have learned that the air sampling was done at a time when the building was closed and had been closed for several days. We will be opening the building up at 7:30 on Saturday mornings and allow for maximum ventilation for two and one half hours before our customers enter the market space. In addition, doors will be opening and closing hundreds of times for the duration of the Saturday market.
Below is signage that will be posted at the entrances at the VFFC. This signage has been approved by the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
In the conversations we have had with the health department, they determined that consuming food that was prepped or stored in the building was NOT an issue.
They confirmed that the levels measured in the building may not reflect what is present in the air when the doors of the building are opened. The results represent a snapshot in time and can change daily to seasonally based on many factors, including temperature, air pressure, and if doors are opened and closed. Operation of kitchen exhaust fans can also effect how much soil gas is able to infiltrate through the building slab. Unless samples are collected while the doors are open, there is no way to know how effective those ventilation efforts are at reducing the concentrations.
As we learn more, or receive any more information regarding this issue, we will inform all concerned.
We thank our wonderful customers for their continued support during this very difficult and unfortunate time.
