The Vashon Island Growers Association (VIGA) is working to revitalize and reconfigure the Farmers Market, and islanders are invited to a meeting this Saturday to weigh in with their opinions.
The market has grown considerably in recent years, and several VIGA members believe it is time to make some improvements, according to Dan Carlson, the VIGA board co-chair.
“The intent is to come up with something that is more customer friendly, has more space for vendors and has more light,” he said. “We think we can make it better.”
This project, like two on the island before it, will draw on the talents of University of Washington students. VIGA representatives and other Village Green stakeholders have already met and shared preliminary ideas with three UW graduate students, who are part of the College of Built Environments’ Storefront Studio program. Those students and their professor, Jim Nicholls, will be at the meeting on Saturday, Nicholls said, and will present early options to get feedback from the public.
Sarah Lowry, who manages Hogsback Farm with her husband Brian, has been helping facilitate this project.
“I feel there has been a need for quite a while to accommodate the growth of the market,” she said.
She noted that the space under the structure can hold only eight vendors, and their space is restricted and is often dark. It came become crowded there, making it difficult for customers to get through. What’s more she said, when people walk up to the market, they see the backs of vendors, rather than being able to see their faces and what they are selling.
She noted that many vendors typically keep coolers and extra produce behind them, but that area quickly becomes muddy, and it can be difficult to keep things clean.
The market has grown so much, she added, that it now has 45 vendors, and vendors that are not under the structure have their own tents.
Ideally, she said, the design students will be able to find a way to provide ample open space for the community, as well more space for the market to expand to accommodate additional vendors who may wish to join.
“The more the market can support the local agriculture economy, the better,” she added.
VIGA co-chair Carlson noted that these students will build on the work of UW students who have previously come to Vashon. In 2012, students in the Storefront Studio considered Vashon’s main street and how it might be improved. Last year, a class looked at the agricultural economy on Vashon. Both classes, he said, came up with concepts for what the Village Green could look like.
Now, he said, it is time to move beyond rough concepts and engage the community in conversation.
He added that at first students will only consider the Village Green, as the community purchased that piece of property.
“It’s a bird in the hand,” he said.
If it turns out that space is not sufficient, he said, then those involved would have to look elsewhere.
Nicholls noted his students are researching other farmers markets, aiming to be open-minded and respectful, keeping in mind what would work best on Vashon and what people here might appreciate most.
He noted that because of the amount of social interaction that happens at the market, it functions in many ways like Vashon’s front porch.
“But I would not describe what is there now as the front porch of the community,” he added.
After Saturday’s meeting, his students will go back to work, and then come out again with the community’s ideas incorporated.
“It’s just the beginning,” he said.
VIGA and Storefront Studio members will be at the Vashon Library from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday with their initial ideas. A second public meeting is set for March 7 to review the revised designs. The time and location have yet to be determined.
