Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on January  28, 2021.

“It’s cold.” That was the headlining quote of the day at Floyd’s (unheated) indoor Winter Farmers Market, located along Locust Street in the warehouse garage at the back of the Farmers Supply building.

But business was good and the vendors didn’t mind the cold, “I’m almost sold out,” said Barb Gillespie of Grateful Bread Bakery. By noon, Gillespie’s artisan bagels, loaves and cakes were sold out, but she still had cinnamon rolls, scones and some cookies left for purchase.

“It keeps the vegetables nice and crisp,” said Tanya Cook about the cold temperatures. Cook and her husband run Wild Mountain Farm, but they are also local food aggregators and sell products from other Floyd farms, such as Field’s Edge Farm and Riverstone Farm.

Wild Mountain’s winter greens and lettuce blends had sold out, Cook said, but she still had plenty of product for sale, including medicinal tinctures from Itol Acres, grains and granola from Gracious Day and Alice Walker’s artisan vinegars.  “Next week we’ll have our first Wild Mountain cabbages,” she said.

The Winter Market is a scaled down version of Floyd’s outdoor Farmers Market, a SustainFloyd project for supporting sustainable agricultural practices, which operates at the Floyd Community Pavilion from May to November every Saturday, 9 am – 1 pm.  The Winter Market runs from 10 am – 2 pm on Saturdays with two weekends remaining before it closes up shop for the season.

Farmers Market manager Melissa Branks said she’s currently working on online pre-order system, where customers will be able to order ahead and pick up their filled bags at a designated time. Online shopping will provide another option to connect consumers with locally produced food, as well as better serve those who are quarantining during the pandemic. The plan is for the system to be up and running before the Farmers Market season starts in May. Pick-ups will be scheduled for a day other than Market Saturday, Branks said.

Vendors agreed that Saturday’s Winter Market traffic was steady throughout the day and was especially busy during the morning. Piemonte Farms had hot empanadas for sale, along with their handcrafted nut butters, jams and pimento cheese spreads. Gnomestead Hollow Farm and Forage provided samples of the farm’s raw fermented products, kimchi and krauts. They also had medicinal and gourmet dried mushrooms for sale.  ________Colleen Redman

Note: Visit floydfamersmarket.org or the Floyd Farmers Market Facebook page for more information.