A NEW LOCATION AT CITY HALL OFFERS MORE SPACE FOR BIGGER CROWDS
possible to Venice shoppers.
"Here when we started at the Venice Farmers Market, we had just 35 vendors, and 43 percent of
them were selling arts and crafts", Lee-wearing his signature welcoming smile and wide-brimmed
straw hat-explains. "The first thing we realized was that we needed to diversify in the food space,
we needed to bring in more certified organic, we needed to bring in more bakers. We needed to have
foods here that people want to buy and consume every week. When we first started, there were no
Florida farmers and no Certified Organic. Now we offer all of that and more".
The group tapped into their many contacts in the local farming and craft foods communities to bring
in new growers and have increased the number of vendors to 51. Along with the expansion of the
fresh produce and food offerings at the market there has been an increasing awareness of local
residents of the health and environmental benefits of eating locally grown food. That has resulted in
such an increased demand for fresh fruit and vegetables at the market that long-time vendors say the
crowds now come immediately when the gates open at 8 a.m., and many growers sell out all their
fresh produce quickly.
"This used to be a 'late' market; people would come come later in the day, and it was lots of arts and
crafts and less fresh produce" says vendor Sue Drummer of Venus Veggies, a 100 percent
Certified Organic farm in Venus, Fla., who gets up at 3 a.m. every morning to load her truck with
fresh heads of lettuce to take to market. "Now if people want to get something, they have to come
early. It really is a farmers market now. I brought 100 heads of lettuce today and sold everything-
all my kale and radishes by 10 a.m. Since Lee took over, my income has doubled, and the crowds
have doubled."
The move to City Hall's parking lot because of the ongoing roadwork in downtown
Venice has allowed the market to spread out, offering much more room for shoppers. But this
relocation, which happened this past summer, also came with some challenges.
"I've been selling fish in the Venice Farmers Market for 23 years", says vendor Maggie Balsch,
whose stand offers locally caught grouper, snapper, tuna, pompano, cobia, hogfish, as well as cod
and haddock from northern waters. " I am the only original vendor left. There have been pros and
cons with the move. We have more space but do miss some of that foot traffic off Venice Avenue.
and it is harder for some of Venice's older folks from the KMI building to come over here. But the
location is beautiful;it's bigger, it's wider, it's easier to walk around. Those are really positive
things."
Lee says that since the addition of the new vendors and the market's relocation, attendance has
continued to grow and is now up 35 percent from where it was two years ago. He and his team take
head counts every 30 minutes to track attendance. The market is now attracting more than 4,000
people every Saturday. Some of those shoppers take part in the EBT and SNAP food assistance
programs, and the Venice Farmers Market matches any funds spent by those participants up to $40.
We really want people to know that", Lee says. "We double the EBT and SNAP dollars. Local
people are taking advantage of the matching funds. Our Englewood and Venice markets are in the
top three for participation in this program in the whole state of Florida." The market is a nonprofit
organization, and market managers in the past year have donated $17,000 back to the community,
including gifts to the the Salvation Army Food Bank, Good Samaritan Pharmacy, Our Mother's
House residential program, as well as local parks.
"A farmers market is where urban meets rural," Lee says. "The farmers come
to you. They just picked the produce yesterday, and you get to eat it today. It hasn't been sitting on a
truck for a week, and it helps us reduce our carbon footprint."
Lee regularly makes meals for himself out of ingredients sourced strictly from the farmers market
and suggests anyone can give that a try.
"One recent meal I made, I went to Maggie's for seafood, got a lot of fresh Gulf shrimp, fresh
wild-caught and never frozen. They taste like lobster" he explains. "I bought olive oil and vinegar
right here in the market. Onions, sweet peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh pasta made right
here in the market. I grilled the shrimp and vegetables, cooked the pasta wet in the pan with fresh
pesto. I had fresh bread made that morning from the baker. I had a wonderful meal, and I got
everything here. It just takes good ingredients, and you can get all of it here in the Venice Farmers
Market!"
City Hall, Saturdays 8am - 1pm (until noon the off season)
REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964
"Here when we started at the Venice Farmers Market, we had just 35 vendors, and 43 percent of
them were selling arts and crafts", Lee-wearing his signature welcoming smile and wide-brimmed
straw hat-explains. "The first thing we realized was that we needed to diversify in the food space,
we needed to bring in more certified organic, we needed to bring in more bakers. We needed to have
foods here that people want to buy and consume every week. When we first started, there were no
Florida farmers and no Certified Organic. Now we offer all of that and more".
The group tapped into their many contacts in the local farming and craft foods communities to bring
in new growers and have increased the number of vendors to 51. Along with the expansion of the
fresh produce and food offerings at the market there has been an increasing awareness of local
residents of the health and environmental benefits of eating locally grown food. That has resulted in
such an increased demand for fresh fruit and vegetables at the market that long-time vendors say the
crowds now come immediately when the gates open at 8 a.m., and many growers sell out all their
fresh produce quickly.
"This used to be a 'late' market; people would come come later in the day, and it was lots of arts and
crafts and less fresh produce" says vendor Sue Drummer of Venus Veggies, a 100 percent
Certified Organic farm in Venus, Fla., who gets up at 3 a.m. every morning to load her truck with
fresh heads of lettuce to take to market. "Now if people want to get something, they have to come
early. It really is a farmers market now. I brought 100 heads of lettuce today and sold everything-
all my kale and radishes by 10 a.m. Since Lee took over, my income has doubled, and the crowds
have doubled."
The move to City Hall's parking lot because of the ongoing roadwork in downtown
Venice has allowed the market to spread out, offering much more room for shoppers. But this
relocation, which happened this past summer, also came with some challenges.
"I've been selling fish in the Venice Farmers Market for 23 years", says vendor Maggie Balsch,
whose stand offers locally caught grouper, snapper, tuna, pompano, cobia, hogfish, as well as cod
and haddock from northern waters. " I am the only original vendor left. There have been pros and
cons with the move. We have more space but do miss some of that foot traffic off Venice Avenue.
and it is harder for some of Venice's older folks from the KMI building to come over here. But the
location is beautiful;it's bigger, it's wider, it's easier to walk around. Those are really positive
things."
Lee says that since the addition of the new vendors and the market's relocation, attendance has
continued to grow and is now up 35 percent from where it was two years ago. He and his team take
head counts every 30 minutes to track attendance. The market is now attracting more than 4,000
people every Saturday. Some of those shoppers take part in the EBT and SNAP food assistance
programs, and the Venice Farmers Market matches any funds spent by those participants up to $40.
We really want people to know that", Lee says. "We double the EBT and SNAP dollars. Local
people are taking advantage of the matching funds. Our Englewood and Venice markets are in the
top three for participation in this program in the whole state of Florida." The market is a nonprofit
organization, and market managers in the past year have donated $17,000 back to the community,
including gifts to the the Salvation Army Food Bank, Good Samaritan Pharmacy, Our Mother's
House residential program, as well as local parks.
"A farmers market is where urban meets rural," Lee says. "The farmers come
to you. They just picked the produce yesterday, and you get to eat it today. It hasn't been sitting on a
truck for a week, and it helps us reduce our carbon footprint."
Lee regularly makes meals for himself out of ingredients sourced strictly from the farmers market
and suggests anyone can give that a try.
"One recent meal I made, I went to Maggie's for seafood, got a lot of fresh Gulf shrimp, fresh
wild-caught and never frozen. They taste like lobster" he explains. "I bought olive oil and vinegar
right here in the market. Onions, sweet peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh pasta made right
here in the market. I grilled the shrimp and vegetables, cooked the pasta wet in the pan with fresh
pesto. I had fresh bread made that morning from the baker. I had a wonderful meal, and I got
everything here. It just takes good ingredients, and you can get all of it here in the Venice Farmers
Market!"
City Hall, Saturdays 8am - 1pm (until noon the off season)
Ali H. Johnston, MBA in Real Estate
REALTOR®, Lic. Broker #BK3284964
West Villages Realty LLC
19503 S West Villages Pkwy
Stes A2 & A11 (by Appt)
Venice, Florida 34293
Office: 941-460-3179
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