Every Saturday, the parking lot of West Valley College bustles with hundreds of children and adults between rows of tents filled with assortments of fruits, pastries, seafood and even dog treats. The long-running Saratoga Farmer’s Market hosts over 50 vendors and is organized by the California Farmers’ Markets Association (CFMA).
But last year, the long-term agreement between the CFMA and West Valley ensuring operation on the school campus expired. After negotiations, one of the finalized terms of the new deal doubled CFMA’s cost of operations at the school, prompting a number of cost-cutting initiatives.
Because farmers already make marginal profits, the CFMA decided not to increase the price to run a stall at the market.
Instead, the CFMA decided to cut West Valley services for vendors, including custodial care. In past years, West Valley was responsible for cleaning the parking lot. Bathrooms are being replaced by two portable toilets for vendors.
According to Saratoga Farmers’ Market manager Nico Lewis, cutting the cost of custodial care saved 90% of venue expenses. The majority of the stall fee now goes toward paying the college rather than the CFMA’s internal marketing, social media posts, email blasts, postcards and other special events.
Although it has only been two or three weeks since the agreement started, vendors have already started facing challenges. Produce-based vendors have been hit the hardest with the lack of custodial care. Etta Chase, a five-year vendor from gourmet mushroom company Far West Fungi, has been facing issues with maintaining cleanliness at her stand.
“It’s especially hard for our stand because we want to keep all of the mushrooms clean,” Chase said. “We want to keep all of the merchandise clean, and we don’t have a hand washing station.”
Ultimately, although custodial care has reduced, Lewis explained that the CFMA continues to support vendors by keeping low stall prices and boosting farmer profits; they hope to foster a positive market community for vendors and customers alike.
