A plan to move Kamloops' outdoor market inside — in a bid to extend the selling season for vendors and provide more winter food options for shoppers — has hit a snag.

One reason is that a recent online survey of the market's vendors shows that roughly half don't want to continue to sell into the New Year despite a new high-profile location.

Organizers say instead of resuming right after the Christmas break, the market will likely take a break for at least the month of January while the farmers market board figures out what direction to go next.

"We thought it might be smarter just to give it a rest for a little while and let people get a breath and start fresh," said Daniela Basile, one of the directors with the Kamloops Farmers' Market.

Board to decide next step

The survey was sent out to vendors by the Kamloops Farmers Market at the end of November. Initially, 23 vendors signed on to be part of the indoor market, but results from the online survey show that only 12 want to continue after January.

""Some people don't want to do it every week. Some people want to just drop in," said Basile.

She said 12 vendors aren't nearly enough to cover the costs of running the market in the new location. The consensus from the survey is that people are looking to take a break in January.

Basile said the results of the survey still need to be taken to the board of directors who will make a decision on the next steps.

In November, the market moved into the Sandman Centre, a downtown sport and entertainment complex with a plan to run until the end of the year.

The market first extended its season into the winter months in 2015 when a small number of vendors set up outside the Smorgasbord Deli. The goal was to offer more local food options year round in the city, but cold weather hampered that plan.

Last spring, Basile contacted the City of Kamloops to see if there was an indoor venue available. She secured the Sandman Centre on Wednesday mornings to pilot an indoor market.

The summer market runs on both Saturday and Wednesday mornings.

Decision expected by end of 2016

Paula and Mendel Rubinson have sold produce at the summer farmers market for years, and recently began selling produce at the indoor market. They own Silver Springs Organic farm near Savona, B.C.

While they would both have preferred to see the market run on Saturdays rather than Wednesdays, they're not unhappy with the first year in the new venue.

"We're doing something for ourselves and it was nice for the city to give us this venue," said Mendel Rubinson. "We could build on it."

About half of the vendors at the Indoor Farmers Market in Kamloops said they do not want to return in January. (Jennifer Chrumka/CBC)

Shopper Ila Crawford would like to see the indoor market continue because she'd rather buy local food than shop at the bigger box stores.

"We always like to come down and get fresh root vegetables and it's Christmas coming up, I'd rather serve locally produced food then shop at some place like Walmart," she said.

"It would be nice for it to continue on."

Basile expects a decision on the whether the indoor market will continue will be made before the end of December.

With files from Daybreak Kamloops and Jennifer Chrumka