The song says that “life on the farm is kinda laid back,” but someone should have mentioned that to the Hewitt family, as they’ve had an eventful few weeks.
Three weeks ago, a tornado damaged two Hewitts Farm Market produce stands in south Barrie and due to "difficult" bylaws in Orillia, the family opted not to put out their popular stands in the Sunshine City this year. (Click here to read a story about the situation in Orillia)
To make matters worse, on Monday afternoon, a truck plowed through a stand at the corner of Grove and Duckworth Street in Barrie.
No one at the stand was hurt, however Curtis Hewitt, owner and operator of the local farm family's Barrie stands, said it was a frantic call to receive.
“The shed was a complete write-off and we’ll have to replace that which will cost about $3,000,” said Hewitt. “Ironically, most of the product was OK because he missed the tables by less than a foot, maybe. I think one jar broke and we lost a couple cucumbers and onions.”
The incident happened at around 1:30 p.m. when a driver who had collided with another vehicle in the parking lot of the plaza attempted to flee the scene but instead collided with the produce stand.
The teenager working at the stand was unharmed and Hewitt said she wanted to get back to work right away to help clean up.
“She was great but we had to send her home, obviously,” said Hewitt. “She kept messaging asking when she could get back to work - such a trooper. There isn’t much to do anyway until we get it all set up again, which is hopefully sometime (Tuesday).”
The driver of the pick-up truck was charged with two counts of failure to stop after an accident and dangerous operation of a vehicle. He was held for a bail hearing at a later date.
During the Barrie tornado on July 15, two of Hewitt’s produce stands were damaged.
The location near Costco and the one by Canadian Tire on Mapleview Drive West were damaged. Once again, the financial hit is significant.
“I roughly figured it was about $2,000 or $3,000 in damage and losses,” said Hewitt. “We lost some canopies and then, of course, the produce was gone. You add to that also the sheer amount of labour lost and lost sales, too. It was an expensive day.”
It was extra stressful for Hewitt as his wife had just received her second COVID shot and was feeling some side effects so he had stayed home to watch the kids.
“It's been a crazy few weeks for us.”
The Hewitts Farm Market in Warminster has been around for 45 years and while widely known for its corn on the cob, they sell a wide variety of produce.
Hewitt admits that being a farming family, weather is always something for which they try to be prepared. While many have said he overdoes it with the amount of cinder blocks he uses to hold down his produce tents, Hewitt always tries to be prepared.
“We deal with rain and strong winds every year. We couldn’t have been ready for the strength of the tornado, but we have to be ready for everything else,” said Hewitt. “At the end of the day, the work has to get done and you have to get to it.”
To find out more about the Hewitts Farm Market and to find a produce stand near you, head to the website here.
