Hollister
– Despite continued gloomy weather, there is at least one sure
indication that spring is here: The Hollister Downtown
Association’s Certified Farmers Market is starting up again next
week.
Hollister – Despite continued gloomy weather, there is at least one sure indication that spring is here: The Hollister Downtown Association’s Certified Farmers Market is starting up again next week.
Beginning on May 3 the grassy lot on the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets will become home to the market once again – which will be open each Wednesday afternoon through August – featuring organic produce and meat, entertainment and more.
“I encourage people to come out and support the local farm economy, and their money will go straight back to the local economy,” said San Benito County Farm Bureau President Paul Hain, who is among the 22 farmers signed up to sell their produce at the market.
Hain will start out selling organic eggs and walnuts. Later in the season, Hain said he would add tomatoes and free range chicken to his menu.
“You can’t get it any fresher,” he added. “And it’s healthy.”
This year’s farmers market will have some new offerings, including organic herbs from Foxhollow Herb Farms, fresh-cut irises from a local grower and hot tri-tip sandwiches from Mansmith’s BBQ, according to HDA Market Manager Charlene Van Rooy.
Also, Van Rooy said, there will be the old favorites like Hain, Swank Farms and Papa Joe’s Fresh Fish featured at the farmers market. Local cooking guru Dorothy McNett will be wandering through the market giving people tips for preparing the vegetables they buy, according to Van Rooy, and there will be musical entertainment.
The market has proved popular in the past, and Van Rooy said that she hopes the same will be true this year.
“I think it goes back to our roots,” she said, “our agricultural background.”
The above-average rainfall this season, however, might make for a slow start for the market, Van Rooy said.
“Some farmers haven’t been able to get out and plant a lot of stuff,” she said.
Hain said the rain has kept him from planting his tomatoes, which he said might not be ready to sell by July because of the poor weather this season.
Like all HDA events, Van Rooy said the farmers market is aimed at drawing people into downtown Hollister.
“It’s to get people downtown,” she said. “We do anything we can do to get people to discover downtown Hollister.”
