Christy Stanley most likely didn’t realize it at the time, but as a child helping her granddaddy make signs for his farmstand may just have planted a seed that has grown over the years. That seed, like Stanley, is all grown up now and bearing fruit.
And vegetables.
And live music and a coffee bar, to boot.
Stanley is the new market manager for the Vance County Regional Farmers Market, and she’s counting down the days until the market opens for the season on Saturday, May 2. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
There’s plenty to do between now and then, and Stanley is rarin’ to go.
With a fresh focus on making the market a destination for more than just fresh seasonal produce and other locally sourced items, the brand-new coffee bar will give customers something else to enjoy when they visit the market.
The plan is to have volunteer baristas from local FFA and gardener groups behind the counter on market days. Proceeds from the sale of coffee and other beverages will go right back into programming, marketing and more. There are plans to even have a special market blend available soon.
“This is one of the nicest farmers markets around,” Stanley said on Thursday’s TownTalk. “We want to elevate the experience,” she said, a place where folks want to come and hang out for a while – a place to bring out-of-town guests.”
Just one week into the official market start, on Saturday, May 9, there will be live music at the market. The plan is to offer a wide variety of music genres, from Southern Rock and jazz to reggae and mariachi, Stanley said.
“You don’t want to miss out on it,” she said.
The role of market manager seems a perfect fit for Stanley, who operates a small farm now along NC 39 near Williamsboro Wayside at Kerr Lake. The Little Red Fox Farm has an AirBNB on the property, too, which Stanley says is quite popular.
And truth be told, it was the lake that first attracted her and her husband to the area. They’re both big fishermen, she said, and they spent a lot of time driving from their home in Youngsville up to the lake to fish.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanley found herself watching videos about farming and how to make small-scale farming profitable. It was during that period shutdowns and restrictions that Stanley and her husband turned to farming.
“Nowadays, you’re actually able to produce quite a bit on a small farm,” Stanley said. Her focus now is mainly poultry – chickens and turkeys. But she’s dabbled in beef production and has a few pigs roaming and rooting around the place now. As she puts it, she’s “raising bacon.”
Stanley’s exposure to farms had been limited – just summer visits to Mississippi to her grandparents’ farm when she was a child – but she understands the value of having locally sourced food to eat.
“I think more than ever, we’re moving into a direction where, to get local food, you’re going to see a need for more people entering the industry…(people) that maybe never thought of it before,” she said.
Small-scale farming provides a wider variety of people – especially women – a path to producing foods for consumers who are searching for local sources of fruits, vegetables and more.
She applied for the market manager job because she felt it would be a perfect fit for her. It’s important to be available to her family and grandchildren, but also to serve her community.
“I just think it was meant to be that we ended up here,” Stanley said.
Stay up to date by visiting https://vance.ces.ncsu.edu/vance-county-regional-farmers-market/ or follow along on social media at https://www.facebook.com/vcrfm/
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