By Michelle Gannon

A small white Toyota pickup truck, so full of watermelons its bed almost touches the ground, drives through downtown Columbia, leading the way to a location few continue to visit.

After navigating the mid-day traffic, the truck stops at the gate of the Columbia Farmers Market to check-in, and then makes its way to the produce area, where a man hunches over, sifting through peaches from John’s Island, S.C., picking the best ones to sell.

William Griffin, an African American in his early 60s, is devoted to his produce stand at the Columbia Farmers Market, sometimes staying at the market for 24 hours, where he sells produce he buys from farmers from all over South Carolina.

For 26 years, Griffin has worked at the market, which he says has changed tremendously.

“Twenty-six years ago, it was crowded all the time,” Griffin said. “The only people who come in here now are the elderly who have the time to come and know how to cook. The public has changed. Housewives don’t cook no more.  They buy packaged things from the store and they microwave everything.”

Though business is not what it used to be, Griffin is still passionate about what he sells, and where he sells it. Griffin’s 20 tables stand out among the rest. His are overflowing with color from peppers of all kinds, plums, green beans, peaches and tomatoes, and everything is arranged in baskets labeled with where in South Carolina it came from.

Those who do come to the market notice Griffin’s well-stocked and well-maintained stand, driving by other less well-kept stands to stop and chat with Griffin and peruse his large inventory.

Griffin wants the market to become popular again, saying the government of South Carolina should work harder to publicize the market’s healthier products and less commercialized atmosphere than the grocery store.

However, Griffin said he isn’t counting on anything changing, even with the newest initiatives the state is taking to publicize locally grown produce or the construction of a new Farmers Market.

“The Farmers Market is going to move, but the industry is on the decline,” Griffin said. “I throw away probably a third of what I sell. Most of the time the customers don’t come.”

But Griffin’s pride in his work doesn't seem to have changed with the decrease in customers, as can be seen in the care he takes with his stand, and heard in his voice when he describes his disappointment with how “people only shop in grocery stores and don’t cook like they used to.”

“Women don’t know how to cook anymore,” Griffin said. “Housewives don't come and buy food to cook for their families like they used to. They go to the grocery store and buy things already made. Mothers need to teach their kids to cook. All my children know how to cook; ain’t going to be in my house and not know how to cook.”

Wearing a yellow striped shirt straining to cover his stomach, (“See how fat I’m getting, I cook too good,” said Griffin about his appearance), blue shorts and black tennis shoes, Griffin, described his past and talked fondly about his work and family.

He grew up outside of Charleston, S.C., in a family of 18. After graduating from high school, Griffin got a scholarship to New York University, where he majored in business administration. He worked for the IRS after college, but Griffin said he missed being outside so he moved back to South Carolina, started a family and began working at the Farmers Market. Griffin has 11 children, 9 boys and two girls, the youngest of whom is beginning college at the University of South Carolina in the fall.

Griffin is well known at the market. One produce seller pointed in Griffin’s direction, when asked about who to talk to about what it’s like to work in the Farmers Market. Griffin’s assistant seconded the seller’s opinion of Griffin.

Diana Belton, who helps sell the produce with Griffin, said, “If you want to know something about the Farmers Market, he’s the one to talk to. He’s been here for a long time. No one knows more than him.”

For Griffin, he said nothing could be better than what he does, even with declining interest in the market, and lower profits.

“Money doesn’t matter as long as you’re satisfied and confident with what you’re doing. Money is money, you have to be happy,” Griffin said.