Farmers market desperate for vendors at Victoriaville mall in Thunder Bay
Vendors are dropping out due to age and illness, organizers say
The Thunder Bay Farmers Market says it's desperate for new vendors to join it at Victoriaville Centre on Fridays.
Some vendors have grown too old to take part — and some are facing health problems, said acting vice chair Esther Paasolainen.
The market only has two produce vendors, and neither has produced any vegetables yet this year due to weather challenges in June, she said.
"Everybody else is selling their farm, they have moved on, and so we are in desperate need of people who are growing produce," she said.
The market has seen a decline in customers in the four years Paasolainen has been involved with it, she said, but there's still a demand for its services.
"There is lots of neat people down there, there are lots of seniors that come from the homes and apartment buildings around it and that and they come down, they have their coffees, their breakfasts, their everything," Paasolainen said.
What's more, she said, new vendors attract more business; two new bakers arrived last Friday and traffic grew.
Vendors can make $200 to $400 a day at the market, she added.
"The volume of customers when they come is awesome, and they like to spend," she said.