Walla Walla’s farmers market has its best day ever

Walla Walla’s Downtown Farmers Market has been running for 27 years. This past Saturday, it had its highest sales day ever. The market brought in nearly $42,000 in a single morning. 

Just five years ago, a good day would have been half that, said market manager Alex Heiser. But the market’s revenue has been growing. 

“It just blows my mind that we keep getting better and better,” Heiser said. “I truly don’t think it has anything to do with me — but with our vendors and how our vendors treat people.” 

Heiser also attributes the growth to consumers’ rising interest in knowing where their food comes from. And to the fact that the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation, which runs the market, now has a dedicated social media person. 

In 2023, the Washington State Farmers Market Association said that sales from its members were the highest they’d ever been. Each brought in an average of about $29,000 per market day. 

Because Walla Walla’s market is a member of that association, more than half of its sales must come from agricultural products. That includes produce, plants, meat, dairy, honey, wine and coffee. Prepared foods, like the market’s famous Fat Rolls, do not count toward that total. 

On last Saturday’s record-breaking morning, 41 vendors attended Walla Walla’s farmers market. 

Walla Walla’s market charges a booth fee — ranging from $40 to $70 per day — and does not take a cut of sales. But Heiser said it still benefits the city when vendors profit. 

“You want everybody to make money,” he said. “The health of the market depends on the health of the vendors.” 

Walla Walla’s Downtown Farmers Market, which is held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., is now halfway through its regular season. The last day of the market will be Oct. 26.