For Neopol Smokery, the start of the Baltimore Farmers’ Market each April is more than just an opportunity to sell its smoked fish and other goodies to hungry city residents below the Jones Falls Expressway.

It’s a sign of hope — that after the business has made it through the lean winter months, it’ll start to make money again, said Dorian Brown, who owns Neopol Smokery with his mom. There’s the chance to gain new customers and catch up with old ones. And it’s just plain fun. “I think it stands up against any farmers market” on the East Coast, he said.

But this year, Brown and other vendors say they’re worried about the market’s future. Others said they’re questioning whether the event, which dates to 1977, is still a priority for city officials. “We’re obviously concerned,” Brown said.

In January, representatives for Mayor Brandon Scott announced they were seeking a new operator for the market. The news came three months after Scott canceled the city’s contract with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, which had previously run the farmers market and other events. Though the request for proposals closed Feb. 21, the city has yet to announce a successor.

As the weeks wind down to April, Elisa Lane of Two Boots Farm said some of the usual boxes for vendors have been left unchecked. Usually, by this time of year, contracts have been signed, entrance fees have been paid and vendors have already been announced. “None of that’s happened yet,” she said.

In fact, until recently, Lane was unsure that the market would open on time — or at all. Panicked, the Hampstead farmer sent two emails to the Baltimore Development Corporation, which is assisting with the search for a BOPA replacement to run the market. That was followed by an email to the mayor’s office seeking reassurance. The market, she said, the largest in the state, accepts SNAP and WIC nutrition assistance benefits. It’s good for residents, for producers and for the overall food system. And it was in peril, she wrote.

But Lane was reassured by the response from Tonya Miller Hall, senior advisor to the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture, who let her know that this year’s market would be run by a familiar group: BOPA. In the same email, Miller Hall wrote that the city was still actively seeking a replacement for BOPA, since the group “cannot reasonably manage the large portfolio it is currently responsible for.” She added: “We are committed to replacing BOPA with an equally responsible and capable partner to ensure a smooth transition and continued success for the market.”

In an email, Scott spokesman Kamau Marshall said the city is still reviewing applications for proposals to operate the market. They received eight responses, of which five met the criteria for selection. BOPA will continue to manage the market until a replacement is found, and the group will assist with the transition to a new operator, Marshall said. Funding for this year’s Baltimore Farmers’ Market comes from BOPA’s existing contract with the city. Baltimore is currently negotiating a new contract with BOPA for the next fiscal year, which starts in July.

Barbara Hauck, a spokeswoman for BOPA, wrote in a statement that the group and Scott’s office “are committed to ensuring no disruptions and a smooth transition for residents and Market vendors alike.”

Neither the Facebook page nor the main website for the event appears to have been recently updated; the official website still lists last year’s start date.

John Shields, a prominent local food world personality and the chef behind Gertrude’s Chesapeake Kitchen inside the Baltimore Museum of Art, said that “everybody’s really nervous” about the future of the Baltimore Farmers’ Market.

Shields is a board member of 32nd Street Farmers Market in Waverly, whom he said city officials reached out to about taking over the Baltimore Farmers’ Market, too. But with its small staff of mostly volunteers, it was more than the 32nd Street organizers could take on. “We had to politely decline,” he said.

Still, he hopes to see the city’s largest farmers market endure. “This is a vital part of the Baltimore community and the Baltimore food economy,” Shields said. “We’ve got to make sure somebody’s taking care of it, and they’re taking care of it well.”

Martha Lucius, outgoing president of the 32nd Street Farmers Market, estimated that dozens of vendors at the larger Baltimore Farmers’ Market collectively bring in anywhere from $2 million to $4 million per season. “This is a huge resource for our economy,” she said. “It’s important that we get it right.”

Meaghan Carpenter, co-owner of HEX Ferments, which has a stand at the Baltimore Farmers’ Market, said she’s frustrated by the secrecy surrounding the event. While she feels somewhat confident that this year’s market will happen on its planned start date of April 13, “it’s really disappointing, the lack of communication and transparency,” she said, calling it “par for the course” in her dealings with city agencies.

But the farmers market has a huge impact on the community. “Why does this not feel important?” she said.

Nearly 150 vendors participated in last year’s market, and several past participants, including Ekiben and the Urban Oyster, have gone on to start up successful brick-and-mortar shops.

As of this week, BOPA has yet to announce a list of vendors who have been accepted to the farmers market, though the group told applicants in a March 5 email that they hoped to have those out soon. “We are aiming to open the Market on April 13th, so get ready!” wrote Delaney Cate, the market manager and a BOPA employee.

That messaging didn’t reassure Pam Pahl, whose family’s farm relies on the Sunday market for 40% of its income. “Nobody knows anything,” she said. Pahl’s Farm, located in western Baltimore County and now in its sixth generation, has been a regular at the market for as long as it’s been running — nearly 50 years — selling pork, plants and vegetables. “There’s nothing in stone yet. It’s scary,” she said.

In an email, Hauck said BOPA would announce the vendors and update the farmers market website sometime before opening day, but “I don’t have an exact date for that.”

“Hopefully we’ll hear something soon,” said Aubrey Vincent of Lindy’s Seafood, which is located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and had a stand at the Baltimore Farmers' Market last year. “You like to know what you’re doing.”

Pahl said that even if the market does take place as usual, starting on the second weekend of April means it’s opening a week later than in previous years. And with Artscape, too, under city control and set to take place over Memorial Day weekend downtown, the market will not take place on what’s usually a busy holiday weekend. “I don’t think the farmers market, sadly, is very very high on the list of priorities for the city,” Pahl said.

Responding to that criticism, Marshall said in an email that “BOPA and the Mayor’s Office have been responsive to vendor inquiries. BOPA’s lead contact has maintained regular communication with farmers and vendors throughout this process.” He also said that “historically, many artisan vendors opt to participate in Artscape rather than the Farmers Market.”

Despite whatever issues BOPA has had with the city, the group has been an effective market manager in the past, said Brown, who called the Baltimore Farmers’ Market one of the best organized markets of all those in which Neopol Smokery participates. He’d like to see BOPA continue to run things.

“We don’t want it to change it all.”

This article has been updated to correct the number of vendors who participated in the Baltimore Farmers' Market last year.