SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Georgia law makers are looking to cut about 14 percent from next year’s budget due to money lost during the pandemic. One proposal would close five of the state’s farmers markets—including the Savannah State Farmers Market.
State Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said the following statement in a subcommittee meeting a few weeks ago about his proposal: “This may be one of the big shockers and certainly one of the less comfortable things to even begin to talk about given our history and the importance of our marketing division, but our proposal closes Cordele, Thomasville, Savannah, Macon and Augusta State Farmers Markets.”
Vendors say closing the Savannah State Farmers Market (701 US-80, Savannah) would devastate their families and the communities who depend on their services. The site has been open for over 50 years. Charlie Stokes, one of the vendors whose business is based there, said he started selling flowers there over 25 years ago—making the marketplace both the source of his livelihood and his legacy.
Stokes started out selling flowers to help a friend who was recovering from a heart attack, but the gesture transformed into something more: “I fell in love with the market. I started out with a hundred dollars, and we do a lot more than that now.”
From flowers to eventually selling all sorts of produce, Stokes said the market is more like a family than a place of business.
“We treat you like family out here. We don’t push nothing on you. If you ain’t got the money to buy it we give it to you, always have,” Stokes said.
Several years ago, Stokes had a stroke that caused him to depend on a wheelchair. After doctors said it would be hard for him to realize his dreams, the legacy he’s created at the Savannah State Farmers Market contradicts what he said was slated to be a tough life—describing himself as “very blessed.”
Most of Stokes family work at the market with him—operating multiple businesses that run six days a week. With the 73-year-old man in the thick of it, helping customers and treating everyone as a friend.
“He’s one of those people that started his business from nothing, similar to what I have, and built it up to what it is today,” Steve Howard, another vendor, said.
Howard co-owns a local farm-to-table delivery service called Local Farm Bag. They work with nearby farmers to supply people with assorted goods. Howard said the pandemic brought to light the issues with the nation’s food supply chain.
With the food systems as they’re currently built there’s certainly fracturing here and there and that’s because you’re getting all of your supply from one or two extremely large vendors for regions as opposed to small farms from areas,” Howard said.
The local entrepreneur said he saw an uptick in his clientele as people began realizing they could buy directly from local producers, and many times get their food at a cheaper price.
“We never ran into any supply issues. We were delivering 300 deliveries a week before all of this hit and now we’re over a thousand. We feel the farmers market is very important to this community,” Howard added.
Stokes said if the proposal passes, his family, and others could lose everything.
“They’ll just have to go out of business or something, I don’t know, I know I would. I would have to go out of business. Legislators need to think about what they’re trying to do to the farmers and me and these renters out here. It’s hard to find rental spots like we’ve got out here.”
The proposal has not been voted on yet. If it passed, it will go into effect on July 1st.
To help the local vendors you can reach out to your state representatives and call the Georgia Department of Agriculture at 404-656-3689.
