Market History

Some History of the Coppell Farmers Market
By Patrick Daly

Wow! It’s hard to believe, but the Coppell Farmers’ Market is now in its seventh season. Time flies when you’re having fun! I thought a little of the history of the market would be of interest to you.

The Committee

In 2001/2002, the City of Coppell commissioned a consulting firm to provide recommendations for enhancing the old Coppell area, the current site of the farmers’ market. With the help of much citizen input, the firm created a document named the “Old Coppell Master Plan.” In addition to street improvements and other items, the plan called for the creation and operation of a farmers’ market in old Coppell to draw people to the area and make old Coppell better known. In late 2002, the City asked for volunteers to form a group that would create and manage the desired market. I have been part of that group almost from the very first meeting. We started with about 25 to 30 people meeting each month. Naturally, in such a group there were varied thoughts on what the market should be. Some wanted an all-organic market, but others didn’t want that limitation; some wanted non-agricultural sales; and still others just wanted something to bring people to Old Coppell. As the spring of 2003 approached, we met more often, and as the nature and reality of the market took shape, some people stopped participating. Over the course of that first season, the group dwindled down to about six to ten people. It continued on for the second and third seasons with about that same number of volunteers. But we found a very strong ally in Jim Witt, the city manager at that time. Through his efforts, the City brought more resources to bear and made the market easier to manage. The City provided not only the land for the market, but also a city phone number for customers and prospective vendors to call, money to hire a market manager, electrical outlets, paving, and other essential things. We owe a great debt to Jim and his efforts. After the third season, the leadership of the group changed and more volunteers joined. Now we have about 15 to 18 people and the workload is easier. The current group leader is in her final year, and we are looking for someone to take her place. If you are interested, call 972-304-7043 and leave a message.

Opening Day, 2003

Opening day was scheduled for the first Saturday in June of 2003, and it was coupled with a festival called “Old Town Days,” sponsored by The Old Town Association. We had two very big concerns: Would any customers show up? And would we have any vendors come to sell their products? To address the first issue, we had signs created for placement at street corners, published announcements in local papers, and printed handbills for distribution in various public places, e.g., the aquatic center, the library, several stores, etc. The harder part was to find vendors. I think we only had about five vendors and only two of them sold produce. So, to have more offerings at the market, our fearless group decided to take matters into our own hands. One member got peas from Sides Pea Farm near Canton, another decided to sell honey, a third bought breads from an artisan bakery in Grapevine, and yours truly first got to meet Jack Finley. We had made contact with Jack, but he was scheduled to be at another market in Fort Worth. So, we struck a deal with him. I drove to Fort Worth, got a fair amount of produce from him and sold it the next morning. Jack himself has been coming to our market ever since then. As I recall, all the vendors had sold out by about 9:30 or 10:00 that morning. And there were still plenty of customers! I think that as a market we suffered some from that first day because we sold out so fast. But I believe we’ve now overcome that . . . at least I hope so.

I will continue next week with other topics.