Nearly 60 vendors, including farmers, artisans and cooks, sell their wares at Vashon’s weekly farmers market, according to the Vashon Island Grower’s Association: far more than can fit under the small wooden shelter in the center of the Village Green.
That fact is a mark of success. Vashon’s burgeoning market is something to be proud of, as it is a physical representation of the value this island places on sustainability, creativity and the importance of supporting local business.
Farmers market manager Caleb Johns said this week that, after many years of growth, the market now has a stable foundation that can support large-scale changes without losing vendors. It’s time to give it that change.
At the Saturday market, vendors overflow out of the shelter onto the sidewalk and the lawn, with some buried at the back and others squished between piles of vegetables. The picture is a familiar one for the island as Vashon struggles with preserving the simple, rural lifestyle and a growing population of both permanent residents and tourists. With a new library, high school and arts center all in the recent memory of islanders, the concept of any more new construction may be daunting.
The good news for those struggling with the island’s recent developments is a new Village Green structure is years away. A design has not been chosen and funding has yet to be addressed. VIGA is merely in the feedback-gathering phase to find out what islanders could potentially see in the space.
The bad news is that vendors will be stuck in the small space and with few alternatives for a winter market until a new structure can be funded and built. Johns and market vendors said the annual move indoors for winter markets causes sales to plummet.
Conversations about the structure’s potential funding have just begun and VIGA committee members are talking to the county about the possibility of grants, but community finanicial support could be needed.
The market’s vendors are just a small part of what makes Vashon the place that it is: the rural, friendly, small town that has drawn people here from all corners of the world. Like the island students and artists, Vashon’s farmers and artisans deserve a space to make them feel welcome and appreciated; it’s the least the island can do for those committed to feeding and providing for Vashon’s population.
