Gig Harbor community comes together to save Patterson Farmer’s Market

The Patterson Farmers Market, at the corner of Olympic Drive and 55th Street, has been in Gig Harbor for 42 years.

This family-friendly market is known for its fall pumpkin patch, Christmas tree lot, and flower baskets for Mother’s Day.

Leigh Yuhasz, a client of Patterson for 35 years, discovered that the market was in financial trouble, which forced it to remain closed for almost two years.

There were no Mother’s Day flowers or June strawberries this year, but the market was able to open on July 2, according to Hailey Patterson, daughter of the owners.

Yuhasz created a GoFundMe campaign for family and market on July 13.

According to the GoFundMe page, Yuhasz learned that an “international vendor cashed his bond check and ran away, leaving him no inventory or profit. The insurance did not cover international sellers. After they ran out of savings, not being eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and having lost Mother’s Day sales, they are in a precarious position to lose the business they have spent their entire lives building.

Yuhasz told The Gateway on July 15 that she wasn’t sure they would be able to meet the $8,000 fundraising goal. At that time, the fundraising balance was around $1,000.

By July 18, the fundraiser had surpassed the goal of $8,000 thanks to community donations. As of July 22, the fundraising balance was $10,286.

After the initial goal was achieved, Yuhasz wrote, in part, on the fundraising page:

“You made it, you helped achieve the original goal! A heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone. The Patterson family is overwhelmed with gratitude…and finally feeling hopeful. Your generous support has exceeded what I imagined to be fulfilled. Patterson’s need goes beyond the stolen funds, it is much greater, they are not off the hook. If we keep this fundraiser alive, an additional $6,000 will be used to pay back arrears of debt and a deposit on pumpkins for their famous Pumpkin Patch securing their next season.

Asked about the campaign, Patterson told The Gateway: “We are beyond words. We are beyond grateful for the incredible support and encouragement we have received from the community. »