The little Gilroy farmers’ market that started on a shoestring budget may finally be here to stay.
Operating out of a new location this year in the City Hall parking lot, the market just wrapped up its season with encouraging profits and noticeable community support – a strong enough finish to merit making plans for next year.
It’s good news for 28-year-old Theresa Webb, who took on the role of director following two rocky seasons in which the fledgling market struggled with an inconsistent vendor count and shopper turnout as markets in Morgan Hill and Hollister thrived. Following two previous failed attempts over a span of several years, Leadership Gilroy stepped up in 2011 and spearheaded the launch of a new market – one that weathered growing pains through 2012.
Perhaps the third time is a charm.
“Now that it’s our third year, we’ve generated a buzz in the farming community,” said Theresa, who previously praised the groundwork laid by first and second-year market directors Catalina Ventura and Kersty Daniels. “It might appear that you just put tents up and it’s an event but it takes a lot of planning.”
A lot of that planning this year involved new strategies.
Theresa, a Gilroy resident, played an instrumental role in relocating the market from its previous location in the parking lot of the Interim Center for the Arts on the corner of Monterey and Seventh streets downtown, to the City Hall parking lot at Seventh and Rosanna streets. The original location wasn’t paved when the market opened in 2011, and even after it was smoothed over with asphalt, patrons commented on the heat, lack of shade and limited areas to sit and relax. The market was also previously held on Sundays and now takes place on Saturdays.
Theresa is now looking ahead to next season and spelling out some of her goals. Those include increased marketing efforts and the acceptance of food stamps when the market re-opens in spring.
Theresa said the market’s entire budget for the season was easily half or maybe even a third of the $15,000 she hopes to have for next year to bring advertising to a new level, and notes she and other volunteers are still going through the market’s finances. Market volunteers are working to arrange sponsorships and fundraisers to help the market return with a bigger and better budget next year, although Teresa is amazed by how well they did with this year’s budget.
“After looking at it the other day, I literally cried. I said, ‘oh my God! I can’t believe we made it this year,” she said.
The market started nearly two and a half months late (most markets open in April and May when the flowers bloom) and ended in October – a month earlier than planned – but this was only to conserve the volunteers’ energy and to start planning for next year, Theresa said.
“What I’ve now learned is many markets close more in the end of summer,” said Theresa, who notes that the Morgan Hill Farmers’ Market that takes place on Saturdays only recently became a year-round market and is 28-years-old. “It takes years and years and years for a market to be able to stay open longer.”
The number of market vendors at the Gilroy’s Farmers Market stayed constant throughout the year at 11 producers, although some — such as Ralph’s Cherry Hut – dropped out when the fruit season ended. Others, such as Soul Sweets, a cake, pie, cobbler and cheesecake company, joined the market later in the season.
“Not just anybody can sell a product at the farmers market,” said Theresa, who explained that all vendors must be approved by the Department of Health or the Department of Agriculture.
Situated seconds from the Gilroy Library, the market’s new location proved ideal for attracting families who regularly visited the area on weekends.
Theresa often sits at the market’s information booth and remembers watching people sit on the grassy lawn after buying fresh produce. They also frequently stopped by to give positive feedback.
“They’d say, ‘I cannot purchase this quality organic produce anywhere for this price and it’s so fresh,’” she recalled.
The market also engaged community members on Facebook, sharing helpful tips such as how to preserve summer herbs by freezing them in olive oil and how to use fresh honey to make citrus cough syrups for the cold season.
Theresa jumped into leading the market before she even had a chance to do a lot of research and has been learning on the job ever since. Now that the season has ended, she plans to reach out to the leadership teams of other markets and to continue learning best practices for operating a farmers’ market.
“I just felt really blessed that I had this opportunity this year,” said Theresa, who always wanted to start a farmers’ market. “I just think it was truly a rewarding experience to be able to offer Gilroy such a wonderful and down-to-earth access to fruits and vegetables.”
For more information about the Gilroy Farmer’s Market, follow them on Facebook.
