MATTYDALE — Like many pockets in the Syracuse area, the hamlet of Mattydale lacks a proper grocery store. While Aldi and Tops are a few miles up Route 11, shoppers need a car to get there.

“It’s sort of a low-income area. Not everyone has a vehicle to go get fresh produce,” said Jennifer Sampson, a member of the Mattydale Events Committee.

While many of their plans for 2020 were scuttled by the pandemic, the Mattydale Events Committee is back in action this summer with a new project: Mattydale Market.

The committee is hosting a weekly outdoor farmers market each Wednesday through September in the parking lot next to Big Lots. Each week features a different local farm selling fresh produce. Crafters, food trucks and other local vendors are also welcome, and the market also will have booths for outreach organizations in the community. The market’s Aug. 4 kickoff will feature Yawney Farms of Jordan as well as representatives from the CanTeen after-school center, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Salina Free Library and the Hinsdale Volunteer Fire Department.

“We want to be able to get the things we need and come together and enjoy each other,” Sampson said.

To kickstart the market’s relatively late entry in the season, the Mattydale Events Committee is waiving vendor fees for 2021.

“It’s just about doing good for our community,” Sampson said.

Book Van-Go to visit market

Among Mattydale Market’s guests will be Book Van-Go. Created in 2018 by now-retired North Syracuse Central School District teacher Sue Straub, Book Van-Go visits parks in North Syracuse and Mattydale and provides free books to school-age children.

“I retired this year. I started my career in Mattydale and I ended my career in Mattydale. That’s just a place that’s been special to me my entire life,” Straub said.

Each week, Straub gives away thousands of books to area children, thanks to community donors and the North Syracuse Education Association. Last week, she handed out 700 books to summer school students at BOCES.

“I come home and often there’s no note — just a box of books,” she said.

Sampson said she met Straub when her son was attending Roxboro Road Middle School, and the two women found themselves volunteering at many of the same events in Mattydale.

“We’ve become quite close,” Sampson said of Straub. “She’s got such a big heart.”

Straub said she also has forged a friendship with Monica Norton, youth services librarian at Salina Library. They cross-promote each other’s events, and Norton donates leftovers from the library’s book sale to Book Van-Go.

“We’re just a group of people that loves books,” Straub said of her stable of volunteers, which is largely made up of current or retired educators.

Mattydale Market takes place from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Sept. 29 in the parking lot next to Big Lots (2411 Brewerton Road). For more information, email [email protected] or visit facebook.com/mattydalecommunity.

To learn more about Book Van-Go and see where the van is stopping next, visit facebook.com/BookVanGo. Donate funds or drop off books for Book Van-Go at the North Syracuse Education Association, located at 210 S. Main St., North Syracuse, NY 13212.