Lansing Farmers Market to honor founding board member Bob Raymond this Saturday
Bob Raymond ... Submitted photo.
The Lansing Farmers Market is honoring Bob Raymond, one of the founding members of the Lansing Farmers Market Board, this Saturday, July 18 during the Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon on the Plaza in Lansing. Raymond passed away Friday, April 10 of this year, after a multi-year battle with cancer.
The concept of restarting the Lansing Farmers Market was developed by Daniel Wagner, a former Kee High School student who proposed the market for an Innovation Project, but making the concept into an actual working market was due in large part to Bob Raymond. With his knowledge, real-life experience, and patience, he gently guided the Farmers Market Board toward the expansion of the market, to the weekly Saturday market now taking place.
The current market opened in the spring of 2021, and was held the first and third Thursdays in the City Park by the ball fields. Raymond was the constant - putting up the canopy, selling tote bags, greeting the vendors, and always looking for a steady stream of produce to entice the customers. Being a past vendor himself, Raymond had the inside track on what the vendors were doing, and he wanted the market to succeed.
Lansing Farmer Market leaders say that Raymond was not known to be a boisterous leader, but rather the follower who asked the hard questions, focusing on building a vendor base of local growers to provide fresh produce and local goods. He knew the success of the market depended on the customers knowing their growers. Following that concept, the market grew from twice a month to every week at the City Park. Raymond’s goal was to have the market weekly each Saturday, a day he thought would bring the most vendors and customers.
The board decided in the fall of 2025 that the Market would move to every Saturday, on the Plaza, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, starting in 2026. Raymond was elated and continued attending the board meetings. However, even though his vision has now come to reality, his passing in April of this year did not allow him to fully see the success of his vision.
“We truly miss Bob Raymond and hope you can join us July 18 to celebrate Bob’s life and involvement with the Lansing Farmers Market,” shared Lansing Farmers Market Board members Ian Zahren, Ann Fields, Julie Miller, and Annie Chambers. “We want to recognize Bob’s work and his mantra for our Market - ‘Know your grower’.”
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