Toledo Thursday Market Going Strong With Online Ordering System

Digital: Customers Can Now Order Products Online and Pick Them Up On-Site Every Thursday

By Eric Trent

etrent@chronline.com

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TOLEDO — Toledo Thursday Market isn’t the average farmers market. It has everything one would expect from a farmers market — and a few twists.

The market on Ramsey Way in Toledo is the only year-round market in Lewis County and the only one within a 47-mile radius, with the next closest being in Olympia. And an onsite building, which opened in October 2019, allows the market to operate year-round. But the most important recent addition has been a new online ordering system, which debuted in March, and has kept the market powering through the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Luckily, Jamie Cummings, the market’s manager, has had the online system in the works for about a year now. So when the coronavirus restrictions hit mid-March, the market didn’t have to start from scratch or panic and worry about how it was going to implement online ordering. All it had to do was ramp up its timeline for getting the program up and running.

Since its inception eight weeks ago, it’s been a smash hit.

“People have been using it a ton,” Cummings said. “It has been incredibly successful for us.”

It’s been so successful that the market has had to keep vendors out of the building so it could use the inside space for processing the rush of online orders. Having the permanent space with tables on-site allows their online order aggregation system go much more smoothly.

“That makes a big difference for us,” Cumming said. “It’s been really good for us.”

Last week was the final week that vendors would be allowed inside the building, and are now relegated to tented booths both in front of the building and out back.

The market, which opened in 2017, has doubled in size every year, Cumming said. It was temporarily closed in January 2019 because not all the vendors were prepared for year-round service and they needed time to get caught back up. But it’s been open ever since and plans to stay open all year.

The main summer season runs June through September, the height of vegetable and fruit farming season, and is when the largest numbers of vendors are in attendance on a weekly basis. 

On-site vendors are now placed further apart from each other than in recent years, in response to the statewide coronavirus guidelines.

In the past, one of the market’s major components has been being a social space for the community, offering live music and having vendors set up inside the building. For now, the inside is primarily used for customers to pick up their online orders. It’s had to strip back to its core, which is providing food to the community.

“Our vendors are fun and our scene is still fun,” Cummings said. “I would say people spend less time on site right now, but much of it has stayed the same as what it was. We’ve tried very hard to try and maintain a positive, fun atmosphere, despite coronavirus.”

Cummings expects that a lot of the current restrictions for places of entertainment will be in place for the long term and doesn’t think many people will be super psyched to go shopping at a farmers market if all the fun is taken out of it. 

Kids activities have been a central part of the market since its opening, which includes crafts, a booth for the Toledo Elementary School garden and a new program called Power of Produce, which allows children to engage with farmers and the food system through games and demonstrations. Those have been put on hold for the time being.

“We’ve tried very hard to keep the market to still feel like you’re connected to your food in a way that isn’t always as clear at a supermarket,” Cummings said. “And certainly you can still talk to your farmers, which is always a big deal.”

The market actually has slightly more vendors this year than it has in years past. They have twice as many vendors online than it does in booths on-site, as well. 

There are several produce vendors, a honey-maker, a jeweler and now that Lewis County is in phase two and can have non-essential products now, several people selling soaps, body products and hand sanitizers. There is a woman who sells masks on-site, a chocolatier, a baker, a meat vendor, a dairy vendor and more.

Most of the vendors are now a part of the online ordering system, which can be found at toledothursdaymarket.com. There is an ordering tab at the top of the homepage which links to all the products and suppliers available. Customers can order there and then pick up their products at the market each Thursday. Cummings said the market has been blessed to stay afloat during these trying times.

“We’re incredibly fortunate we have a very supportive community,” Cummings said. “We have a ton of amazing vendors in the area. It’s been a very successful project.”

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Reporter Eric Trent can be reached at etrent@chronline.com. Visit chronline.com/business for more coverage of local businesses.