SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Susan Kirlin said she and her father were some of the first people in the Town Hall parking lot selling their springtime fruits and vegetables. They’ve been vending for around 29 years.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began here, Gruber Farms, which is overseen by Kirlin’s brother Stanley Gruber, has been looking forward to returning to the delayed Summerville Farmers Market. They recently got the chance to reunite with some of those faithful customers they’ve known for years.
“It was such a big boost for us,” Kirlin said. “The farmers are all back.”
The town of Summerville opened their Saturday farmers market on April 25 with guidelines. Before COVID-19, different vendors and crafts sellers could accompany farmers to help draw a crowd.
Now, the market has been limited to eight farmers only: Gruber Farm, Wishbone Heritage Farms, Cypress Hill Farm, Sunny Cedars Farm, Freeman Produce, Three Oaks Farm, Turner’s Farm Fresh and Shuler Peach Co.
With vendors being spaced out, all hoping to sell some of the springtime vegetables and berries they’ve been holding on to, they are limited to two patrons per booth. Foot traffic is also one-way only within the market and masks are highly encouraged.
Mary Edwards, town spokeswoman, said they know the market brings in a lot of business for the vendors.
“And it’s something people look forward to,” she said.
For the farmers, the announcement that the market would return was a welcome relief. Elliot Shuler, owner of Shuler Peach Co. and a 10-year strawberries and peaches veteran of the Summerville market, said although they aren’t bringing out the crowd they usually do this time of the year, it’s a start.
“It gave us to chance to see how it was going to go,” he said.
With social distancing being encouraged, farmers markets across the Lowcountry have had to either readjust or cancel altogether.
The annual Flowertown Festival in April is traditionally the kick-off for the spring season for the farmers and vendors who frequent the Saturday market. After a day at the festival which brought in thousands of people, Kirlin said most residents knew the following week signaled the beginning of the market.
That combination gave local farmers like her brother much needed support, she said. Now, with the festival being postponed until September, a lot of money was missed out on and obviously things had to change with the market being delayed.
Pete Roman, owner of Three Oaks Farms, which sells a lot of meat, eggs and milk at the market, said the first week is usually very busy. With no additional vendors or things like food trucks, some of the things that usually attract a larger crowd are gone, he said.
Though he knows that’s a good thing considering the circumstances with the coronavirus, he said it’s strange.
“I think everything feels a little weird right now,” he said.
But Shuler, who frequents both the Mount Pleasant market and the Summerville market, said in general people are surprisingly more respectful to each other now. They wait their turn in line, he said, and no one is in a hurry.
Though she only handles the market for her brother, Kirlin knows the pandemic has been hard on his business. They still have customers who they deliver produce to through their community supported agriculture program. But she knows the loyal market crowd is vital.
They also plant spring produce with the Flowertown Festival and market in mind.
That’s why she’s been happy to see people going by the rules during the market’s restructuring and not complaining. She hopes it serves as a signal that residents and farmers can do this together.
“It’s our time of the year, this is what we do,” she said. “This is our livelihood.”
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