• Anyone interested in participating in My Farmers Market is asked to email nanalorissweettreats@aol.com or call 360-953-9708.
LA CENTER — When La Center’s 2015 budget was finalized, no funds were allocated for a city-sponsored farmers market. But instead of leaving the city without one, Lori Deschand, 61, of Ridgefield decided to start her own.
Now, about three months into her DIY market — called My Farmers Market — she’s finding out the same thing the city did: Despite being surrounded by farmland, it’s tough to run a successful farmers market in La Center.
“It’s been a vicious circle,” Deschand said. “I can’t get vendors because there’s not that much foot traffic, but I can’t get foot traffic without vendors.”
The market — which runs from 3 to 8 p.m. Fridays in the parking lot at La Center Evangelical Free Church, 111 E. Fifth St., La Center — opened on May 1. Since then, Deschand has welcomed a variety of vendors to the market, including a few produce vendors and ones who sell tie-dyed clothing, candles, essential oils, jewelry — and a church representative who was selling raffle tickets for a quilt. Many vendors, especially the produce ones, only showed up for one of two Fridays.
“A lot of them said they weren’t making enough money in La Center to justify coming back,” she said. “I can’t prove ’em wrong.”
It’s gotten to a point where Deschand might have to close the market early. It was originally scheduled to run through October. However, due to low attendance, in both vendors and shoppers, Deschand might close it after Friday’s market if she doesn’t hear from some other vendors who can make it to future ones.
“I hate to do it,” she said. “It makes me feel like a failure, but if we’re sitting around here all day not making many sales, it’s not worth it. I had one day this summer where my total sales were $6.”
Deschand, a retired 20-year volunteer with Clark County Fire & Rescue and former convenience store cashier, has her own business, NanaLori’s Sweet Treats, where she sells homemade fudge, cupcakes and cookies. She sells her goodies exclusively online and at farmers markets. That’s partly why she decided to start My Farmers Market.
“This is my income,” she said. “I sell at three markets regularly. If one of them goes away, that’s going to hurt my business a lot.”
Now, not only is the market struggling to attract as much traffic as it did last year, which already wasn’t much, Deschand has added expenses in trying to operate the market. She had to put her own money into the market for a permit, signage and advertising. She estimates she spent $2,000 on the market so far.
Lorraine Williams of La Center ran the city-sponsored farmers market in 2013 and 2014. She said the city covered expenses to bring in live music, close down the street and for insurance.
“I don’t think the market can run without that (financial help),” Williams said.
The city-sponsored market was located on Aspen Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street, which was a more visible location. When Deschand started My Farmers Market, it was originally located at La Center Grange but moved to the church parking lot partly because church officials offered the location for free and also because it’s easier to see from the street. However, neither location is as out in the open as the Aspen location, which Deschand and her vendors can see from the church parking lot.
Even with a better location, Williams said the farmers market on Aspen didn’t draw as much foot traffic as she would’ve liked.
“Residents of the town didn’t support it as much as we hoped,” she said. “People just weren’t coming down.”
Williams said she and market officials did what they could to ensure vendors were coming. She said she regularly traveled around to other markets, inviting new vendors to La Center. She also offered discounts on booths to vendors, especially those who brought along produce.
“It’s a small market, it’s out of the way,” she said. “We’re kind of removed from the freeway. It basically serves our town and nothing else. We’re not a tourist destination. Farmers don’t make a lot, anyway, so we didn’t want to take away from what they did sell by charging them a lot for space.”
One problem Williams ran into was that the La Center Farmers Market was on Thursdays, going up against the larger Salmon Creek Farmers Market. After last year’s market season, Williams spoke at a La Center City Council meeting and said the city should think about moving the market to Fridays.
But on Fridays, My Farmers Market is competing with the Woodland Farmers Market. Williams said in years past, La Center’s market was hurt by being so close to Cowlitz County. Businesses based there didn’t want to come to Clark County and sell food because they’d have to obtain more permits to do so.
Even so, Williams said, she thinks it’s possible to have a successful farmers market in La Center. The market would need a good location, have to seek new vendors constantly and add food, both produce from farmers and hot food.
“It’s not a farmers market without food,” she said. “Then it’s just a craft show.”
Even with less foot traffic and a rotating cast of vendors, Ruth Patching of Vancouver has been one of the few constants at this year’s market. Patching, a high school teacher, is there each week with her tie-dyed clothing.
“It’s slow, but I’ve done okay,” she said. “The foot traffic has been less, but money-wise, I think I’ve done about the same.”
With school starting, Patching will have to stop attending the market soon, another reason Deschand is thinking of closing up early.
“She’s put a lot of effort into this,” Patching said of Deschand. “I know it’s been frustrating, especially with so many people not showing up.”
It’s not just the public that isn’t going to My Farmers Market. Deschand said she’s had multiple vendors tell her they would show up, only to never be heard from again. The first week, she thought she had 10-plus vendors on board. Four showed up.
The hardest vendors to find and keep, she said, have been produce vendors.
“That’s what a lot of people are looking for, too,” she said.
When she had produce vendors, they typically come for a week or two and decide they’re not doing enough business to come back. Deschand is not only looking for produce vendors, but vendors who will commit to the market.
“If I know they’re going to be here each week, that’s something we can promote,” she said. “That’s something that will spread through word of mouth. If they stick around for even a month, I think we’ll see an increase in traffic.”
Until then, Deschand is going to hold on and try to keep things afloat with the resources she has available.
“Some people think I did something wrong, and that I should’ve done it exactly like the city did it,” she said. “Well, I can’t do it like the city did it. This is how I can do it.”
