Without more customers, market may close early
Wednesday afternoons in Hollister have become a chance to grab a
tri-tip sandwich, an ear of roasted corn and some fresh produce for
many local residents and workers who stop by the downtown Farmers’
Market. But the summer season may be ending two weeks earlier than
planned, according to Sharlene Van Rooy, of the Hollister Downtown
Association.
Without more customers, market may close early
Wednesday afternoons in Hollister have become a chance to grab a tri-tip sandwich, an ear of roasted corn and some fresh produce for many local residents and workers who stop by the downtown Farmers’ Market. But the summer season may be ending two weeks earlier than planned, according to Sharlene Van Rooy, of the Hollister Downtown Association.
The Farmers’ Market committee had originally planned to stay open through Sept. 26, but tentative plans are for the last market to take place Sept. 12.
“We are going to attempt to go the first two weeks in September to see how it goes after school starts,” Van Rooy said. “Maybe it will pick up after everyone is back from vacations.”
While foot traffic at the market is down right now from this time last year, Van Rooy said, the average number of customers over the season has been about the same as last year.
“Some people are pleased with the number of customers and others no matter how many they have, they are not happy,” Van Rooy said.
For-profit vendors pay a fee to attend the market each week while nonprofits are allotted a spot free of charge.
One of the challenges the Farmers’ market committee faces each year is drawing diverse vendors to the market. Some vendors can only come for a few weeks or a month because of the season for their produce. A cherry vendor spent a few weeks in June at the market before closing down shop, and an asparagus grower shut down as the summer weather heated up.
“We can’t have too many farmers selling the same product,” Van Rooy said. “We had an issue with strawberries this year.”
While there were several farmers from the Central Valley who inquired about setting up at the Wednesday market, Van Rooy said because their products were similar to other regular vendors such as Hamada Farms and Phil Foster’s, they opted not to have them.
“Phil doesn’t do it because he makes a ton of money,” Van Rooy said. “He does it because he supports San Benito County. He is doing it because he believes in the market.”
In an attempt to draw out more families, the committee agreed to have a bounce house on site for most of the summer.
“That has been a great thing,” Van Rooy said. “Not only does it make parents stay longer with the kids, but it makes the grassy lot look fuller. If it looks fuller with more vendors, people are more likely to stop.”
This year, the committee opted to allow artists to rent a vendor space if they were selling art items that incorporated agriculture. Two artists came during the summer and Shannon Grissom, who is known for her paintings of grape vines, signed up to have a booth Sept. 26, though the Farmers’ Market may be closed down before then.
While many markets have embraced arts and crafts vendors and food booths, this year’s committee has pushed to keep the focus on produce.
“They don’t want to turn it into an arts and crafts fair,” Van Rooy said.
