Availability for September 27

The availability list looks very similar to last week’s. Still no tomatoes, but there are a few more beans, more peppers, more squash, and more cuts of beef listed. There are also various herbs, okra, eggplant, cooking greens, sprouts, and other veggies.

In years past, we’ve pretty much had to shut down for a few weeks when the summer items petered out and before the fall items had come in. This year, though, we have enough growers all contributing that, though the selection is limited, we’re able to keep right on going. If you’ve got an organic garden of your own at home, consider adding a bit more space next year and adding your harvests to our lists. It doesn’t take many homer gardens to together make a major difference in how Athens eats.

We have seen phenomenal growth this year, not just in the number of growers but also in the number of customers. There are a lot of factors that have contributed to our growth, but one of the major ones is our hosts, Gosford Wine. Those of us that were with us before Gosford invited us in last August remember waiting in the parking lot at Kudzu Coffee while I rummaged through coolers for your order, often times in terrible thunderstorms. And before that at the patio of Big City Bread. And before that under the shade tree of the empty lot where the historic home was moved by the old city jail. And before that in the back of the delivery truck at Heirloom Organics in Winterville. We’ve evolved our operation quite a bit in the past six years, and we couldn’t have asked for a better place than Gosford Wine for our pickups.

So, as a thank you to Gosford and as a thank you to you, I’m giving everyone who orders this week a $5 coupon good toward the purchase of anything in the store, so long as you buy it before I leave at 8pm. If you haven’t been a Gosford customer, now is your chance to pick out a bottle even more cheaply. If you don’t drink wine, they’ve got jams, bread, cheese, and even chocolates made by one of our own Locally Grown members. And when you’re at the register, please tell them thanks for giving us such a nice pleasant spot in out of the weather.

Thanks for all your support of local small farms! We’ll see you Thursday from 4:30 to 8pm at Gosford Wine!