Beach Baptist Farmers Market wraps up season today
The final Beach Baptist Farmers Market of the season will be held today off Connecticut Street.
Pastor Shawn Crister said this is the fifth year they have held the farmers market, which is usually held until the end of May, but with traffic slowing down, they decided to make May 8 the final day.
The Beach Baptist Farmers Market is held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 130 Connecticut Street.
“The market was created to generate more support for our Guatemalan mission. We have a pastor down there that we support. They have a school, coffee farmers that they needed support with,” Crister said.
Since Beach Baptist is a smaller church, with a smaller demographic, he said they have to rely on some alternative income to raise money for a specific project.
In their five years of holding the farmers market, Crister said they have built about five houses, a kitchen onto their church and supported 20 children in school per year with items such as uniforms and books.
The market features about 50 vendors on average, with this year really focusing on more food items, as well as seating areas.
“We wanted people to come and hang out and eat and have breakfast and lunch, or both,” Crister said.
Other vendors include fresh produce, barbecue, French pastries, pickles, common wares as far as homemade items, jewelry, clothing and holistic items.
Eighteen percent of all booth rentals goes straight to Guatemala, as well as 100 percent of everything sold at the church’s coffee booth. The coffee is from Guatemala.
Crister said they take at least one trip, if not two, to Guatemala each year, and they bring the pastor back to the states for a visit and provide a report.
“The pastor down there is a coffee processor and farmer. Farmers in these third world countries get paid pennies to pick coffee,” he said, adding that the coffee is sold for 40 cents a pound.
Crister said they pay them $3.20 a pound, which allows the pastor to pay the farmers four times what they normally get paid. He said they are pushing some economic growth in the community which, in turn, gives people more sense of a purpose to provide for their families.
In addition there are other farmers in Guatemala who want to grow coffee for the pastor.
“The coffee in that region has really stepped up,” Crister said.
The Beach Baptist Farmers Market will start up again the first week of October.
Crister said he is thankful for all of the support from the community and island itself for the farmers market.
“There are quite a few people that come to get all their produce there. Some of the best produce ever is sold here and they are a big draw,” he said.