We love the Farmer's Market in Urbana, in fact we live for the Farmer's Market in Urbana, it's so much fun! This video is from the first week, which ended up being our Best. Week. Ever! so far in the now 3 years that we've been doing this. The second week wasn't as great, only because we're running out of inventory. I thought we were making things throughout the winter, and yes, we were, and people loved it!
We love the Farmer's Market, not just for our ability to sell our canned goods, but for the other vendors there. Last year, in the early days of the pandemic, the Farmer's Market was deemed an Essential Business, but only for food vendors, and "value added" food vendors -- that's us! So, even though the foot traffic was down in general, our little booth thrived. So much so that there came a point last summer at which we could no longer support our home garden, so we bought food from our Farmer's Market neighbors. Overnight, a new business model was born. We made so many new relationships and had a great time last year! This year, we look forward to even more successful relationships.
I don't know about you, but I've had it with the big companies: Apple, Amazon, WalMart, and Target. They were great during the shutdown, but I feel like local businesses got swept under the table, even those that managed to survive. I have a renewed resurgence in supporting local businesses, and the Farmer's Market is where you can find lots of local Chambana goodies!
I also love TED Talks, and I found one about the value of local farmer's markets. "In this actionable talk, social entrepreneur Mohammad Modarres shows how to put your purchasing power into action to save local agriculture from collapse and transform the food industry from the bottom up." Here is the TED Talk, aptly entitled, "Why You Should Shop At Your Local Farmer's Market." So, we'll be out there in Urbana this coming 3rd weekend of the market, but with dwindling inventory. Come see us and say, "Hi!" And support the other vendors, too. Thanks :)