Royal City discusses farmers market

Meeting tonight begins at 7:30 p.m.

ROYAL CITY - After a practice run last year, the Royal City community examines moving forward with a farmers market.

A meeting takes place tonight at 7:30 p.m., at the Jardin de Roses office, located at 421 Juniper Circle, to brainstorm possibilities for a local farmers market.

"We did a practice one last year, one afternoon in late July, on a Friday afternoon from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.," said Sharon Chesterman. "I think it was good. And we had planned only to do one. I think some people were maybe disappointed that we didn't do more."

If organizers determine a farmers market can be viable, they would try to put one on for more weeks.

"Because there are so many, it probably depends on if vendors can bring things and man a booth," Chesterman said. "I would like to think maybe we can reach people that don't go to farmers markets, but we'd also like to draw some of the larger farmers that we know go to farmers markets all the time."

With the high price of gas, Chesterman continued, a farmers market might provide incentive for more people to buy locally and provide another venue for the people in the community to come together.

"We're hoping it will keep the money here, that people will support the farmers and the products that are grown here," she said.

Chesterman's goals for tonight's meeting include having "quite a few" people in attendance and finding a day during the week that would work for a farmers market, as well as finding people willing to work on spreading the word, "because that's a problem we always have."

Organizers would also have to decide whether the market would include handmade crafted items in addition to farm produce, Chesterman said.

"We've never done this before," she said with a laugh. "I was talking to the man who's president of the Moses Lake farmers market, and he said to me, 'It's hard to get a farmers market started.' I suspect that it is."

The farmers market would be under the auspices of the organization Strengthening the Heart of Our Community, Chesterman said, which is now a 501 (c) (3) organization.

"I think if there is sufficient interest, hopefully there will be a committee that can become the farmers market committee, and work under or in conjunction with (the organization)," she said.

Strengthening the Heart of Our Community and the state's Horizons program are sponsors of the meeting tonight.

For more information, call Chesterman at 509-346-9482.