“We really like having this here, and we didn’t expect it to be this big,” said Sugarcreek Twp. resident Sue McGinley, who shopped the market for the first time Friday. “We mostly looked at produce, but it was nice to have the cheese and honey, plus bakery’s always nice.”
The market is open from 3 to 7 p.m. Fridays in the PetSmart parking lot, at 4333 Feedwire Road.
Jim Yount was touting his local connection to the market, selling corn “picked this morning in Xenia.” While some of the vendors come from surrounding counties, Yount sells at Papa’s Produce at 2759 Upper Bellbrook Road.
Sugarcreek Twp. officials worked the phones near and far this spring, calling farms to get the market started June 12. But it seems to have taken off in part because vendors who make the rounds of several farmers markets passed the word among themselves.
Randy Webb of Webb Valley Farm in Wilmington said he was at a small market in Lebanon when the honey vendor at the next table mentioned Sugarcreek Twp.’s fast-growing market.
Two-thirds of the way through last Friday’s Sugarcreek Twp. market, Webb said he had done close to $400 in sales of his lamb, pork, beef and eggs. He compared that to one recent day at a Xenia market when his sales totaled $18.
Days like those are counterproductive for the farmers, because many local markets charge a fee for vendors to participate. Webb said $50 is common, with some others charging $100, or 10 percent of sales.
Administrator Barry Tiffany said neither Sugarcreek Twp. nor PetSmart is charging vendors any fee to participate. Several vendors also said they like the Friday afternoon/evening time slot, when so many other farmers markets are on Saturdays.
“This market has a nice crowd looking for good products ... not a flea-market crowd,” Webb said. “It’s a better shopping experience, with people taking time to stop and talk to you.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2278 or jkelley@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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