Fight Over Turlock Farmers Market Ends, But Vendors Worry About Future
TURLOCK (CBS13) — A Turlock farmers market dispute has come to an end, but now vendors and businesses are wondering what to expect with a new, bigger group taking over main street.
After five months and another five-hour city council meeting, no decision was made on who would operate the farmers market. So, the original organizers—the nonprofit volunteers—decided to back down.
"When I come to this corner, I think of all the beautiful things we created over the last six years," said market chair Elizabeth Claes.
For six years, the nonprofit Turlock Certified Farmers Market and its volunteers ran the weekly summer market. It closed in the fall with organizers thinking everything was fine for 2016, until the board got a phone call from the city.
"That a road closure application had been submitted for the same time, same location, and days as our market," Claes said.
Golden State Farmers Market Association, a for-profit company that runs farmers markets in Carmel-By-The-Sea and Hughson, planned to set up its own farmers market. It's being headed by a local grower.
But local vendors are worried about the change.
"He obviously wants to make it big and better, which for the last six years it has gotten incrementally bigger and better," said Nick King with Five Kings Cattle.
Candice Gonsalves got her business started by selling at the farmers market. She now owns Farm House on Main Street.
"We are scared to think that they won't be in charge of it. It's growing at a rate that downtown can accommodate. We can't see it grow five times," she said.
But on Tuesday, the nonprofit gave up the fight after the city still couldn't decide between teh two market operators.
"The vendors are saying, 'What are we going to do? This is our livelihood.' And they need to have some type of closure," Claes said.
The nonprofit could still find a new location for a competing market. The season typically picks up again in May, but it says it doesn't have plans to operate in a separate location.
