Clovis shoppers flock to new farmers market

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- The new Clovis Farmers Market on the northeast corner of Herndon and Willow officially kicked off Sunday.

It is only day one at Clovis' new farmers market, and there was no shortage of fresh fruits, vegetables and satisfaction.

"We were just looking, and they offered us a sample and after biting into it I was like 'yeah we'll buy some,'" one shopper said.

The new market, sitting in the parking lot of the Clovis Commons Shopping Center, was filled with people purchasing some of the Central Valley's locally grown produce.

"We didn't even know it was here," resident Nicole Reher said.

Reher and her husband are both happy to have a fresh market down the street from their home. And because of that, she says it is a place they will be visiting often.

"We have a son with some health problems, so it's nice to know vegetables aren't covered with stuff and actually scrub off pesticides and so even better," she said.

Even though it is early in the season for some growers, several farmers here were busy weighing and bagging produce for customers buying some of the highest quality of foods.

But there was more than just nutritious goods in sight. People like Jesus Perez, a local wood craftsman, brought some the products he's built to sell.

Perez was surprised to see his business keep up with the others.

"To tell the truth, the church, the wine boxes, everything is gone with the vegetables," he said.

Peter DeYoung is with the California Fresh Farmers Market. He says they wanted to connect local growers to more people in the area.

"You get to talk to the farmers you get to ask them questions about what it is and it's just a fun atmosphere," he said.

While only 17 vendors took over the space for the market, organizers are expecting that number to double within the next 30 days as additional crops come in.