The Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market at University Place has experienced a string of thefts in the last month. Signs used to advertise the market have been repeatedly stolen, costing the organization about $1,000 dollars to replace.
Kate Underhill, the manager of the Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market, said two different kinds of signs were stolen from the market on May 4, May 25, and June 9.
Stolen items include permanent vinyl banners that have been placed at the edge of mall property along S. Estes Drive for the past six years, as well as yard signs which are placed around the neighborhood day of to promote the market – mostly on Fordham Boulevard, Estes Drive and Franklin Street.
“So far, we’ve had eight of those [yard signs] stolen and four banners,” Underhill said. “So, it’s really adding up for us which is just really frustrating.”
Photo of the Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market yard signs (photo via Kate Underhill)
Underhill said the yard signs were stolen during market hours on two different Tuesdays between 2-6:30 p.m. The large vinyl banners were also stolen twice – the first time of which was during market hours.
“The most amazing thing to me is that that first day, May 4, when the banners were stolen, we were right there,” Underhill said. “You know we’re focused on the customers coming in and it was also a really rainy day, so we were pretty distracted trying to keep all our stuff dry – but they were stolen like 50 feet from where we were.”
The Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market replaced the stolen banners after the first theft, however Underhill said they were stolen again soon after. She said these repeat offenses are disheartening as the market’s small marketing budget has already been largely exhausted.
“It’s just dumbfounding to everyone that I speak to,” Underhill said. “We just can’t understand why someone would be doing this to a farmers’ market. We’re just here supporting the local farmers and small businesses that come, they put up their tents and they sell their produce and food items that they’ve made twice a week and it’s just incredibly frustrating.”
While the thefts have been reported to the police, Underhill said she hopes the community will help “keep an eye” on the signs and report any future, suspicious activity.
“We’re just hoping that by letting people know this is happening that if they see someone picking up the signs and it’s during our market hours, which are Tuesdays from 3 to 6 and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, that that’s not the right thing to be doing,” Underhill said. “Those signs should be staying where they are until our market is done for the day and maybe they would call the police and let them know what they see.”
Lead photo via Kate Underhill.
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