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ALG Market Open for October 14


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Tomorrow’s holiday always sparks discussions of indigenous peoples and colonization. I’d like to plant an idea with you: think about all of the wonderful indigenous foods of North America, many of which have fallen into obscurity. See if you can find some to add to your diet this fall, even if it’s just to try something new for one single meal. Native plants are almost always a better choice to grow than species and varieties not adapted to our environment, but growers won’t plant them if there’s not a demand. Here’s one interesting list to get you started, and you’ll recognize some of them from the ALG listings throughout the year: 20 Native North American Foods with Stories to Tell.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for October 7


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Fall is my favorite time to garden in Athens, even though many people shut their gardens down as the first frost approaches. It still feels like summer outside, but now is the time to get in there and start planting broccoli, collards, cabbage, kohlrabi, kale, Brussels sprouts, and more. In years past we had a better selection of seedlings than you can find at most garden centers this time of year, but this year they were by and large a casualty of having to switch our market over to contactless pickups. We will have a few items listed for you in the coming weeks, but nothing like the days when Wolfskin Growers was able to sell through our market. You might be able to reach her directly if you miss that selection as much as I do, here: https://georgiagrown.com/member/wolfskin-growers-inc.

Fall weather does seem to have finally taken hold, and while that means many of our summer crops will soon be saying their goodbyes (though not all, thanks to the many greenhouses our growers use) it also means the autumn crops will be in their element. We should be awash in leafy greens real soon, and I love that.

I’ll be taking the week off, but the market will be in the more than capable hands of our wonderful volunteers. Lately, I’ve been sending them sent home before you even arrive, and I know they miss getting to see and talk with you all each week.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for September 30


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

The end of September already? That’s… that’s crazy. But here we are. Looks like a beautiful week ahead of us, just right for both the summer veggies hanging on in the garden and the fall crops coming in. Hopefully we can get more like this right on to frost (preferably mixed with a bit more rain — but not on Thursdays)!

Here’s something I haven’t talked about in a while… despite all of our best efforts, sometimes the things you order don’t make it into your bags come Thursday. The growers try their best, but sometimes they aren’t able to fill orders for a variety of reasons. They almost always go into the system and remove the items they can’t fill by 2pm on Thursday, so by then you should be able to look at your order on the website and get a reasonable expectation of what we’ll have ready for you when you arrive. Even then, though, things can go wrong. A grower can leave a box at home, sitting on their kitchen counter, and when we go to fill your order, an item might be missing. We mark those items off on the spot, using our little hand-held devices. I’d like to tell you as I load your car, but that’s pretty impractical most of the time. And sometimes, we mess up ourselves filling your orders and think we put everything in your bag only to find an item with your name on it at the end of the night. In that case, we take it off your order and automatically issue a refund to your account if you’ve already paid.

In any case, if you pay with Venmo, you can see your order on the website to get the total. It should be accurate when you pick up your order. The majority of you are “pre-paying” these days, though, using cards online. It’s a bit of a misnomer because even though you placed your order on Monday or Tuesday, I don’t actually run the cards until the end of the night on Thursday, after all the orders have been finalized. That way, you’re never charged for items the growers took off, or didn’t bring, or that we left out of your box. You can see exactly what you were charged for, and what the status was for every item on your order, by looking at your order history on the Your Account page. There, you can see a PDF invoice for every order you have ever placed at ALG, a line-by-line accounting for every item, and the total you were charged (or paid in person).

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for September 23


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Right on cue, we have signs that summer is winding down. The equinox comes on Wednesday, the nights will now be longer than the days, and the plants pick up on that really quick. Take the arugula and mizuna, for example — there are a three different listings this week for those zesty greens. They might have some heat of their own, but they’re not fond of summer at all. Right on their tail we’ll see bountiful spinach, cabbages, broccoli again, and other cool season crops. The summer items will hold on as long as they can — we’ve still got over a month until frost will put an end to those (except for what our growers have planted in high tunnels and greenhouses). So, for the next few weeks we’ll get to enjoy the best of both seasons! It’s exciting times in the kitchen, for sure.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for September 16


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Our weather lately has been just about perfect for the overlap between summer and fall crops. Not too hot and not too cold, maybe a little dry but there’s lots of rain in the forecast this week to take care of that. All the leafy greens coming in will just love that! Pretty soon our nights will be consistently down in the 50s, and that will really slow down the summer crops that have been doing so well. Many of our growers extend their seasons with hoop houses and other protections from the cold, but if you’re a stickler for tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers grown out in the direct sun, you’ve only got a month or so left of those.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for September 9


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Happy Labor Day, everyone! I’ve known many hard working laborers in my day, but probably none that work harder than our farmers. Please send a few extra thanks their way next time you’re able.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for September 2


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

September already? I can’t say it feels like September to me, but I do see the nights will be getting down into the 50s later in the week, so Fall will get here soon. Can’t wait! I really don’t have anything specific for the newsletter this week, so I’ll let you get right into ordering.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for August 26


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

The end of August is one of the toughest times to be a grower here. The heat and humidity is at its peak and it’s the perfect weather for pests and diseases. It’s draining just being outside for an hour, much less the whole day, but there’s just so much to do. And on top of tending to the summer crops, now is the time to start planting for the fall. It’s hard to remember, when it’s so hot and muggy that it’s still 80 degrees at four in the morning, that our average first frost is only six or seven weeks away! But it’ll be here before you know it, and when it is and you’re eating your crisp lettuces and gorgeous broccoli remember that your growers were out in the heat at the end of August getting those plants started for us.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for August 19


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Not much news on the farming front this week. It’s been hot, but not abnormally so for August, and we’ve had enough rain to keep the ground from drying out. Looks like we’re fixing’ to get four inches more this week, so our growers are getting prepared for that. My eldest turns 17 on Thursday, and that had me reminiscing — I’ve been running our little market for longer than Vivian’s been alive, and some of you who have been on this journey with us will remember me filling orders with a baby strapped to my chest, first on the lawn outside Kudzu Coffee, and then on the patio of Big City Bread. Much has changed since those days!

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!

ALG Market Open for August 12


Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

The new school year brings many new people to Athens, and many new people to Athens Locally Grown, so I thought this week I’d give a brief primer on how ALG works. Those of you who have been with us during these last seventeen years probably already know all this, but I’ll try to keep it interesting for you too. In January, I’ll spend several weeks going into much more detail about all this.

First off, ALG is best thought of like a traditional farmers market, because except for the lack of tents and tables that’s very much how we operate. The growers are putting their own items up for sale directly to you, at prices and quantities they have set. The market volunteers and I are here to make sure it all happens smoothly, but the growers are selling their products directly to you. Growers do have to apply to sell through the market, and I personally approve each of them before they list their products. Here’s a summary of the standards we have set:

  • All growers must use sustainable practices and never use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
  • All growers can only sell what they themselves have grown or made
  • All growers must be from the greater Athens area. Right now, this means within about 50 miles
  • All animals raised for meat or eggs must be pastured
  • Handicrafts must be made primarily from items produced or gathered on the farm
  • Prepared foods must use organic ingredients if at all possible, and locally grown ingredients if at all possible
  • All proper licenses, when required by law, must be obtained
  • All growers must first participate in the market for a few weeks as customers, so they can clearly see how it all works

When I’ve turned down requests to sell through ALG (and I have turned down many), the items clearly broke one or more of those standards. There are a few edge cases that I take on a case by case basis, such as coffee. In cases like that, we set the standards as strict as we can. With coffee, for example, the beans must be sustainably grown, they must be roasted locally, and the roaster must have a direct business relationship with the farm that grew the beans. Now in the time of covid-19, I’ve put a moratorium on new growers. I’m just not able to get to know new people and their growing practices as much as I want to while staying socially distant, but when it’s safe to do so I’ll be talking with those who have been waiting.

So, the growers list their available products and set their prices. For most all of the products, they do this before they’ve harvested the items, so they have to estimate how much they will actually have. They’ve gotten pretty good at this guess, but it is a guess, and the unpredictable nature of farming means they may have far less than they thought (thanks to deer, a hail storm, etc.) or they may have far more than they thought (a nice rain can double the growth of lettuce overnight, for example). Most of them are conservative with their estimates, and so they let you continue to order even if they’ve already sold more than they guessed they’d have. That’s why popular items may have a quantity in the negatives when you look at the listings. The system will still let you order on the chance that they’ll actually have enough, but you’ll get warnings along the way that you’re taking a gamble.

I do not collect items from the farms, and do not know myself until Thursday afternoon what the growers were able to harvest and bring in to town. The growers do have each other’s contact information, so if one grower is short and another has a surplus, they may arrange with each other to get all the orders filled, but in general, if a grower cannot fill an order for something, they’ll remove that ordered item and you’ll see a comment on your invoice indicating that. Since I’m not a middle-man, I can’t arrange for substitutions myself.

When the growers bring in the items you ordered on Thursday afternoon, packaged and labelled with your name, I pay them on your behalf out of our shared cash box during the hour before we open the market for their sales from the previous week. Then, you arrive and pay into the cashbox for your order this week via Venmo or your card online. We deposit the money you pay into our bank account so it will be there when we write checks as the cycle begins anew. As explained elsewhere on the website, you are really ordering directly from and paying the growers yourself, but our shared cashbox system makes things convenient for you and them. (Imagine if you ordered from ten growers having to write ten checks when you picked up your items!) This shared cashbox system does mean that if you place an order and then never arrive to pick it up, we’re left holding the bag. For that reason, you are responsible for paying for orders not picked up, and that amount is automatically added on to your next order for your convenience. If you pay by card, the cards don’t actually get charged until after pickups on Thursday so your charge will reflect any adjustments that had to get made along the way.

For a number of legal reasons, ALG never takes possession of your ordered items. We don’t buy them from the growers and resell them to you, nor do we repackage them in any way. The growers drop off your items for you, and you arrive and pick them up. The market volunteers facilitate that happening. Because of the need to maintain that separation, we cannot deliver, nor can we generally hold your items later than 8pm on Thursday if you fail to come pick them up. We start calling those who haven’t arrived by 7:30, and quite often we just get answering machines and voice mail. Anything still at our pickup location at 8pm will get divided up among those there at the time, primarily our volunteers, and then we finish packing up and leave. There are some things you can do to insure you won’t get charged for things you didn’t come get:

1. If you know prior to Tuesday at 8pm that you won’t be able to come get your order or send someone in your place, send me an email and I will cancel your order.
2. If you have a cell phone, make sure that number is the number on your account. You can go to the “Your Account” page on the website to be sure. If you’re out and about and I get your home phone or your work phone, no one gets helped.

Finally, ours is a paperless system, so we do not have paper receipts for you when you pick up your order. An electronic receipt is generated, though, and can be found on the website. Go to the “Your Account” page, view your order history, and you’ll see an invoice for each order. By 2pm on Thursday, it will show what we expect to have for you that evening. After we fill your order, it will show exactly what we packed for you, and what, if anything, was missing. You can view that at any time, even years from now. If we didn’t get you something we should have, or if anything you got was of unacceptable quality, please contact me ASAP. I’ll share the problem with the grower so we can insure it won’t happen again. If you’re logged into the site, most of the growers have their contact info on their profile page (off the “Our Growers” page), so you can contact them directly if you choose.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you at our market’s home on Tallassee Road!

We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new faces!) so for all of you you can find a detailed run-down of how Thursdays go on our website here: https://athens.locallygrown.net/faq#7

Other Area Farmers Markets

If ALG doesn’t have everything you need, please support our growers at the other markets that are now back up and running, or at their own locations. The Comerian takes online orders for Saturday pickup at the bakery here: https://www.thecomerian.com/online-ordering. The Athens Farmers Market is holding their Saturday market once again in Bishop Park and Wednesdays at Creature Comforts.They’re still operating under pandemic rules, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back, holding a drive through market just like us (and using my software too, so it’ll be nice and familiar). You can join them at https://wbfm.locallygrown.net. The Saturday market in Comer has also returned. They’re small, but sometimes an early Saturday drive to Comer is just what the soul needs. And of course Collective Harvest is going strong over at https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com.

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!