Under a hot sun, droves of shoppers strolled around the Hale­iwa Farmers’ Market on Sunday to buy bags of tomatoes, kale, mangos and other fresh fruits and vegetables.

Entertainers played Hawaiian music, but the mood was less than festive.

Word has spread that the market needs to find another home.

Tan Luangsiyotha, who owns Fields of Aloha, said she depends on the market for her livelihood. Her produce generates close to $1,500 weekly, which she uses to pay rent for her Maka­kilo home and to support her three children, ages 4 to 8.

"If this falls, I fall, too," Luang­si­yo­tha said.

Before the farmers market was established in April 2009, Luang­si­yo­tha was on public assistance, struggling to support her family, she said. With steady sales of her produce since the farmers market opened, she was able to get off welfare.

"This is the best market," she said.

About 3,400residents and visitors headed to the popular market Sunday, the owners estimated — 900 more than average for the weekly event.

Market officials had been consulting with the state on plans to change their arrangement from month-to-month to yearly when they were told abruptly that vending is prohibited from public highways.

Although the parcel is no longer used as a roadway, it is covered by the law, according to the attorney general’s office. Initially the department ordered the market to close or move by April 10, but it extended the deadline until the end of the month.

The Abercrombie administration has said it will help the market find another site, but owners Pamela Boyar and Annie Suite say they want to stay.

"We don’t want to move," said Boyar. "This is our home."

As of 5 p.m. Sunday about 1,600 people had signed an online petition in support of the market continuing at its current location until another site is found.

Since the market’s inception the Transportation Department allowed rent-free use of the site in support of local farmers.

Luangsiyotha said regular customers buy fresh, local produce from her to last the entire week.

"We are their food source," she said. "They don’t shop anywhere else." 

Cucumbers, red onions and okra are among the crops she grows at her 12-acre farm in Kahuku.

David Delventhal, owner of Pupu­kea Gardens and Hawaii’s Special Inc., said while they sell their organic lettuce and papaya seed salad dressings to restaurants, the farmers market is the only spot where he sells his produce.

"It’s so hard to be a farmer," he said. "You struggle to find a way to get your produce out."

He predicted that dozens of farmers will go out of business without the Hale­iwa venue.

Laie resident Joy Shlach­ter, who stops by twice a month, said she was saddened to hear the market needs to move.

"I love coming here," she said. "I really like the atmosphere."

The market also promotes healthy living, she said. "I hope it stays."

Windward Oahu resident Alexander Avery said she supports a move to another site for safety reasons.

While there is no vehicular traffic on the roadway itself, it is not far from the busy junction of Kamehameha and Joseph P. Leong highways.

"Why not have it at city parks?" asked Avery, noting that parks offer bathroom facilities and parking space. "I think that would be a better place for this."