After a slow summer, the Downtown Hollister Farmer’s Market has
called it quits for the year.
Hollister – After a slow summer, the Downtown Hollister Farmer’s Market has called it quits for the year.
“We have a lot of good customers this year, just not enough,” said market manager Sharlene Van Rooy.
The market normally runs from May until the end of August, but Van Rooy said she had hoped to keep the event going into September. Sales started out strong, she said. But as in previous years, they trailed off in July. As a result, Van Rooy decided to close this year’s market at the traditional ending date, the final Wednesday in August.
“It’s a nice market, but for some reason, we run out of gas at the end,” said Dick Swank of Swank Farms, whose booth sold a wide range of produce including lettuce, tomatoes, cherries and corn.
Some of the specialized vendors, such as Mansmith’s Barbecue and Charlie’s Corn, reported strong sales, Van Rooy said, but business was lackluster at most of the booths selling produce. Van Rooy has heard plenty of suggestions about how the market can improve – many unfeasible.
Introducing more crafts vendors might draw customers, she said, “but then it’s not a farmer’s market anymore.” Nor can she reschedule the market for Saturday because that’s when most of the local farmers will be selling at larger markets.
“These people are all somewhere else on Saturday,” Van Rooy said.
But Van Rooy is willing to try new things. There were more advertisements for it this year. On Wednesdays, the market site at the intersection of Fourth and San Benito streets has been lined with colorful flags. Neither change seems to have made much of a difference, she said.
“I don’t know what the answer is,” she said.
Van Rooy hopes to start accepting food stamps next year, a step that has proven to boost attendance at other markets.
Van Rooy’s efforts have, however, snared some new customers. Hollister resident Ava Sanchez said she became a regular at the farmer’s market three or four weeks ago. She had known about the market before, but the flags helped remind her to stop by on Wednesdays. Sanchez could already identify some of her favorite products, including the salsa from Swank Farms.
“I didn’t know this was the last day,” she said. “Yeah, that is disappointing. I guess I need to stock up.”
