Nielsen

LA GRANDE — At a recent weekday session of the La Grande Farmers Market, the eight or so vendors taking part were doing good business. Customers passed from booth to booth in a steady stream, shopping for fresh produce, honey and other local wares.

The sun was out and people were smiling. The smiles were plain to see, because almost no one was wearing a face mask. That’s because the worst of the of COVID-19 pandemic has passed, and the hated mask mandate that went with it is long gone.

Though the pandemic hit the farmers market hard, the blow is a fast-fading memory. It seems business is as good now as it’s ever been, according to Tuesday Market Manager Meghan Moore.

“This year we’ve had more vendors than in years past, both at the Tuesday and Saturday markets,” Moore said. “Everything feels open again. New people come to test the waters and they say they’re doing well. This is a thriving market.”

The market is open May-October each year, with local growers and craftspeople selling their produce and products Tuesdays and Saturdays at Max Square downtown. The Saturday market is the main event and draws far more vendors and customers than the Tuesday edition.

Founded in 1980 as Blue Mountain Producers, the La Grande Farmers Market did business initially in a vacant lot at the corner of North Fir Street and Monroe Avenue. Its mission has always been to provide a venue for fresh, locally sourced products and produce.

In 2003 the market moved to the Max Square location. Like all local businesses, it faced a serious challenge in 2020, when the COVID pandemic raged, people stayed home in droves and the local economy tumbled downhill.

Adjustments were made. For a time, the market moved to a location on Jefferson Avenue, a place better suited to social distancing requirements. Gone was the live music, which had been a staple for the Saturday market. Most special events were canceled as well. Also that season, sales of art and craft items were put on hold. Vendors sold consumable products only.

Moore, who formerly was a vendor selling coffee products at the market, remembers 2020 as a dark time when crowds thinned and business suffered.

“We struggled with the mask and social distancing mandates, and we had difficulty getting sponsors. The farmers market relies on local sponsorships, but businesses were hurting,” she said.

Farmers Market Manager Candi Nielsen said the loss of sponsorships was the cruelest blow of all.

“We rely on sponsors to help pay a lot of our costs,” Nielsen said. “They help pay for staff, for music, for the special events we have.”

Nielsen said local businesses gave $50,000 in 2019. With the arrival of COVID, the robust revenue stream dried nearly to a trickle.

Nielsen said sponsorships in 2020 came to $16,000.

That season was rock-bottom, and of course there was no way to go but up. Nielsen said sponsorships climbed to $24,000 in 2021 and have continued upward since then.

“We’re doing great. We may not have as many sponsors, but some we do have are giving bigger amounts,” she said.

Though profits fell off in 2020, growers selling at the market found ways to adapt. Moore noted that many of them put extra effort into selling at home farmstands.

M&J Martinez Gardens, of Milton-Freewater, has operated a produce booth at the La Grande Farmers Market for 14 years. Manager Alexis Martinez said his family’s home farmstand proved to be a lifesaver during the pandemic.

“There was a lot less traffic here at the market, and sales went down,” he said. “Our farmstand did much better that year. We usually just sell flowers there, but that year we sold produce too.”

The Platz Family Farm, in Union, has had a booth at the La Grande Farmers Market the past eight years. Recalling 2020, Becky Platz said sales at the market took a dive, while business at home base picked up considerably.

“Revenue here (at the market) was down at that time, and we ended up selling more at home,” she said, adding that Platz customers liked that they could call ahead and place their orders. “We’d have it ready for them when they pulled up.”

Neilsen describes the 2020 increase of activity at farmstands in the valley as a “COVID bubble.” She said open-air farmstands were an attractive shopping alternative during the pandemic, but the trend seems to be reversing itself.

“Now it’s kind of flipped. We still see the same people coming to the farmers market,” she said.

Nielsen said the market is running at full tilt once again, with a paid manager and assistant manager, live music on Saturdays and a full slate of special events like Kids Day, Fruit Pie Day, Salsa Day and the annual quilt show.

Platz said there’s been steady improvement in business at Max Square the past couple years. She thinks the local farmers market is well on its way to a full recovery from the COVID disaster.

“It seemed to come back slowly, but the health of the market has definitely increased,” she said. “People work together and have fun, and isn’t that what a farmers market is for?”

Revenue

2022 — $54.5 million

2021 — $61 million

2020 — $33 million

2019 — $63 million

Market locations

2022 — 140

2021 — 136

2020 — 123

2019 — 127

Vendors

2022 — 6,400

2021 — 5,900

2020 — 4,700

2019 — 6,700

Visits

2022 — 3.5 million

2021 — 3.4 million

2020 — 2.2 million

2019 — 4.2 million