Evansville's Downtown Farmers Market not returning, new project may take its place

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The Downtown Evansville Farmers Market is closing, at least for this season, although a few local organizations are looking to start a new project to replace it.

Market Master Pattie Davis said the plan was to move to a different location this year — on Main Street toward Riverside Drive — fell through and their previous location wouldn't work.

The organization announced they wouldn't be opening for the 2019 season via their Facebook page Friday morning.

The Friday market typically runs from mid-May through September from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Work is underway, however, to find a new way to bring fresh, farm produce downtown this year.

“When Pattie Davis told me they had decided to not have a 2019 market, I got with my colleagues at the Healthy Communities Partnership,” Urban Seeds board chair Robin Mallery said.

The groups worried about downtown residents who had been able to use their SNAP benefits to procure quality produce at the market in the past but will now again have limited access to fresh foods. They determined to try and put together some kind of market this year.

“We are exploring options to prevent a food access gap for the 2019 growing season,” Mallery said. “We are hopeful a program and location can be obtained for use during this summer.”

The market moved in 2017— from Second and Sycamore streets across from the Old Post Office to the empty lot at Third, Fourth and Bond Streets next to the Lloyd Expressway. 

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In their Facebook post, the organization said, "In the following years, we are looking forward to being of service to our many friends in a new downtown location."

The short note, which also thanks those for supporting the market through the years, gives no explanation for why it is closing. It is signed, "Market Master and Board of Directors Downtown Evansville Farmers Market."

The market featured fresh produce, baked goods, locally-sourced meat, handmade crafts, food trucks and live entertainment. 

Davis said she polled vendors a few months ago about what they'd like to do if a new location wasn't available — return to the Bond Street location or take a break.

"We talked about it and I met with the board," Davis said. "And we just decided we couldn't open this year." 

When the move was initially announced, Davis said the Bond Street location would be temporary for the market.

She said the farmers market had plans to move to a permanent location Downtown in the next two years back in 2017 but didn't divulge details about the future location. She said then it would have a roof, an amenity the market didn't have before. 

When asked about that move Friday afternoon she said they had hoped back in 2017 to move to the vacant lot by the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library for their new home but grants the library was hoping to secure didn't work out, she said.

They were forced to leave their Sycamore location because of the Post House development that is ongoing right now.

The new market location wasn't as centrally located to the Downtown foot traffic and businesses, but the original hope was that it would make the market more visible.

"That first year the location was fairly good," Davis said. "But last year we didn't have a good year."

She said she's hopeful the Main Street location is ready for 2020 and said the reason it wasn't ready in time this year was a "misunderstanding."

"This market started in the 1800s and has come and gone a lot of times since thing. We plan to keep it downtown. We don't know what we'll do down the road yet, but time will tell."

Richard Ritter of Ritter Produce in Owensville, a regular market vendor, also noted that the Bond Street location didn’t have a great year in 2018.

“There just isn’t the foot traffic we had at the other location,” he said. “We had a good run, but the crowd wasn’t the same and that cut down on the numbers of vendors. There just weren’t enough vendors committed to returning that spot, and it takes a tremendous amount of resources and effort to put on a market. We’ve tossed around ideas for different times and other things.”

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