30. Our First Market
Garden Variety Harvests’ first ever farmers market will be this coming Saturday. A lot has gone into building toward this point, and there are hoards of people to thank and acknowledge. The support of my family, my partner, and her family is the foundation on which this baby business has been born, and I’m feeling so grateful.
There's also a lot of thanking to do in the local food community that’s embraced my business so enthusiastically. I took every meeting I could for several months after moving here trying to establish a secure footing to bootstrap this urban farm from, and those meetings are now bearing bountiful fruit. From the LEAP market staff, to the vendors who will be my market neighbors, to the RCGA and the community outreach team at Carilion Clinic, many organizations and dozens of individuals have helped me check off daily to-do’s. Other farmers have shared advice, connections, and tools more generously than I could have hoped. My experience here is a testament to the idea that if you plug into your community with good intentions, you can be quickly embraced and woven into your local network.
Looking back, it’s all happened so fast. I drew up loose timelines in the beginning for when certain jobs should be completed, but truly it was a matter of approaching it day by day. I strung as many good days in a row as I could and soon, it felt like progress was being made.
On Saturday, my market booth will have a diverse offering of greens, bunched herbs, microgreens and plant starts. In addition, I think we’ll have a couple value-added products including Chloe’s famous shortbread cookies. We'll be at the Grandin Village Farmers Market from 8am-noon. The forecast calls for sporadic rain, but we’ll be there rain or shine. So please come out and pay us a visit!