Beginning next month, a new marketplace combining locally grown produce with handcrafted goods will be taking place every Monday afternoon, rain or shine, in the area of the northeast parking lot at Monadnock Community Hospital.

The Fresh Chicks Outdoor Marketplace is the brainchild of Sharon resident Jean Mann and her daughter, Kristin Coty, of Gilsum. The two specifically chose Monday so it would not compete with any other area farmers’ markets, Mann said during an interview in late March.

“It’s not a farmers’ market. It’s not to be competitive with any other markets,” Mann emphasized. “There’s so much out there — I was thinking of a way to connect people more.”

The idea is to combine the selling of produce from both small, independent growers and larger farms with “people who make the most beautiful handmade products.”

Mann said there would be acoustic music as well and her aim to provide as much fresh produce as possible from growers who use little if no chemical amendments in their soil has won support from the hospital.

The market is going to take up a portion of MCH’s northeast parking lot from noon to 6 p.m., beginning May 2. The market is not administratively connected with the hospital in any way.

Mann said the idea grew out of her experience writing the Rosaly’s Garden Cookbooks. There are two editions, the first was published in 2009.

“And while I was writing the second one,” she said, “I went around and talked to farmers, small business people, and found out how much people value quality living and healthy lifestyles and it struck me how much we have locally.” Then, she said, the challenge was figuring out a way to tie it all together and “find people you don’t normally see at a farmers’ market.”

According to Mann, there are more options available for buying local than most people realize and she and Coty hope to provide a venue for those interested in fresh produce and locally made products to connect with those who can provide them.

One of the goals of the new marketplace is to educate and inform residents, said Mann, of the positive economic and sustainable impact that buying locally has on both the community and the individuals in it. A press release on the new venture states, “We hope that this venue encourages people to become more responsible to assume relationships of obligation and care for each other as we support what we have locally.”

Mann said the organizers are trying to be as flexible as possible and hope to showcase more artists and artisans than are typically found at such markets.

“Each week we are going to highlight a small local business,” she said. There will also be a weekly featured individual as well as a weekly nonprofit. She said the three groups would be showcased at the market’s welcome table at the entrance to the market, which will have booths available for a fee.

In an effort to help community members make connections, said Mann, a Yankee Barter Board — a bulletin board for posting business cards and brochures for services available; a job board and a place to hang flyers for local happenings — would also be featured.

And, said Mann, a consignment tent would be available for small, independent growers who might not produce enough to warrant their own booth, but might have too many tomatoes or peppers and want to sell them. Mann said she would purchase the items “wholesale” and then sell them.

“We’re really supportive of buying local, staying local and putting money back into the local community,” said Mann, explaining much of the impetus for starting up the Fresh Chicks Marketplace.

While the market is independent of the hospital, Mann said the mission is really the same: health and well-being.

Hospital officials say they are pleased by the prospect of such a marketplace opening on its grounds.

“We are very supportive of this,” said Laura Gingras, the hospital’s vice president of philanthropy and community relations, recently. She said the hospital is “excited that there is going to be a fresh foods market on our campus.”

“We have a lot of employees as well as patients and visitors and it’ll give a lot of people more access to fresh produce,” she said, explaining the hospital’s wellness philosophy was consistent with buying local and buying fresh food. “We know there are other farmers’ markets in the area.... And we feel there’s enough demand to support all area farmers’ markets.”

Gingras pointed out that while MCH had nothing to gain monetarily, “We do as far as health is concerned.”

Mann said the aim was to find farmers with “high-quality” growing practices, meaning that while a number might not qualify as organic, she intends to find suppliers who limit the use of chemical fertilizers.

“As time goes on,” she said, “we will probably highlight Wellness Center programs and try to familiarize ourselves with the things going on in the hospital that will relate to what’s going on in the market.”

To begin with, said Mann, the market will be comprised of about 20 full-time vendors and a handful of part-time vendors.

“The people that I’ve found are just amazing,” said Mann, who is a writing consultant with a degree in education. Coty has a degree in music and is owner of a small farm in Gilsum.

Mann said she hopes the market can support area farmers’ markets via “a sharing of resources and information” and said she hopes “it will be an annual thing. We will involve all vendors and people for suggestions and ideas.”

For more information, email Mann at roseofsharon@localnet.com or call 924-1913.