 Local growers and makers now have an opportunity to sell their products during the winter months. For this week's Community Spotlight, Sarah Winkelman takes us to the Sprout Growers and Makers Marketplace. Growers, makers and bakers are bringing the community together, one locally grown product, at a time. It's a big draw for our community. It's not just, you know, it's not an everyday market. Anything from dried flowers to cutting boards can be found at the first Sprout Market of the season. The first market focused on youth involvement and for one 11-year-old vendor, it was her first time selling her handmade necklaces. I had been on Pinterest and I saw some crazy cool ideas for necklaces and I thought it'd be really cool to try to make my own necklaces and like that and then when I started making them I loved doing it so I thought why not just try to sell them. The other vendors inspire faith to continue to make unique products. I really like it so that other people can see the creativity I put into them and show off their own necklaces and have it their own style. Even though each vendor has their own personal style, they are all coming together for one common goal. I believe in local foods. I believe in our local community and if we don't keep our dollars local, our small towns will start to die and we need to work really hard to help our communities thrive. Keeping it local and growing as a community. A little bit more awareness of the different cultures and the different people and the diversity within the region that we do have here. After the grand opening in April of 2014, the group wanted to expand and received a $440,000 grant through Art Place America to do just that. Processing kitchens and food hubs like this for small scale growers and makers are a thing of the past and we're reviving that and trying to bring it back and I think that's what will help make our communities grow and thrive. With over 30 vendors and hundreds of attendees, you could say the community is sprouting towards positive change. For this week's community spotlight in Little Falls, Sarah Winckelman, Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.