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A downtown venue for the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market does not seem to have taken root. Organizers have decided to no longer offer it, starting today.
“The Wednesday market has died,” said market manager Keri Pratt in a phone interview Tuesday. “It just wasn’t taking off.”
Last Wednesday was the last day the market was offered in the breezeway next to Brown’s Shoe Fit Co., 526 S.E. Jackson St., she said.
Some of the same vendors who take part in the longtime Saturday market had been trying since late May to hawk their wares at the downtown site on Wednesday afternoons.
Pratt attributed the downtown market’s closure to a “vicious cycle. We didn’t get enough vendors and then there weren’t enough customers.
“If we’d had more customers, the vendors would have showed up.”
Pratt said she thought “visibility may have been an issue” for the downtown venue, and that many of the market’s 74 members work during the week.
In addition, the cool spring made produce “incredibly late” this year, adding another obstacle to the downtown venue’s growth.
But she added the market association has “definitely not given up on downtown.” The association may consider the idea again next year and try to get more commitments from vendors.
“This year just wasn’t the year to start,” Pratt concluded.
Farmers market lovers still have the Saturday venue to visit, which is “going exceedingly well,” she said.
She estimated about 35 vendors a week have been offering their products at the parking lot off Stewart Parkway, across from Office Depot. It runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, April through October.
One of the vendors, Norm Lehne Garden & Orchards, is offering a new program this year, Pratt said. Called community-supported agriculture, customers basically “buy a share” in the farm. In return, the farm drops off a box of fresh produce for customers every week at the market.
The produce they receive varies with what’s in season. Pratt said the concept of community-supported agriculture is becoming popular around the country. But Norm Lehne Gardens is the first market vendor to offer the service locally.
For more information on the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market, visit its Web site, uvfm.spaces.live.com.
• You can reach reporter Kathy Korengel at 957-4218 or by e-mail at kkorengel@nrtoday.com.
“The Wednesday market has died,” said market manager Keri Pratt in a phone interview Tuesday. “It just wasn’t taking off.”
Last Wednesday was the last day the market was offered in the breezeway next to Brown’s Shoe Fit Co., 526 S.E. Jackson St., she said.
Some of the same vendors who take part in the longtime Saturday market had been trying since late May to hawk their wares at the downtown site on Wednesday afternoons.
Pratt attributed the downtown market’s closure to a “vicious cycle. We didn’t get enough vendors and then there weren’t enough customers.
“If we’d had more customers, the vendors would have showed up.”
Pratt said she thought “visibility may have been an issue” for the downtown venue, and that many of the market’s 74 members work during the week.
In addition, the cool spring made produce “incredibly late” this year, adding another obstacle to the downtown venue’s growth.
But she added the market association has “definitely not given up on downtown.” The association may consider the idea again next year and try to get more commitments from vendors.
“This year just wasn’t the year to start,” Pratt concluded.
Farmers market lovers still have the Saturday venue to visit, which is “going exceedingly well,” she said.
She estimated about 35 vendors a week have been offering their products at the parking lot off Stewart Parkway, across from Office Depot. It runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays, April through October.
One of the vendors, Norm Lehne Garden & Orchards, is offering a new program this year, Pratt said. Called community-supported agriculture, customers basically “buy a share” in the farm. In return, the farm drops off a box of fresh produce for customers every week at the market.
The produce they receive varies with what’s in season. Pratt said the concept of community-supported agriculture is becoming popular around the country. But Norm Lehne Gardens is the first market vendor to offer the service locally.
For more information on the Umpqua Valley Farmers Market, visit its Web site, uvfm.spaces.live.com.
• You can reach reporter Kathy Korengel at 957-4218 or by e-mail at kkorengel@nrtoday.com.
