The Weblog
Athens Locally Grown has closed.
ALG Market Open for January 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
Welcome to 2021, and another year of Athens Locally Grown! This will be our twentieth year in operation (I can’t believe I’ve been doing this this long!) and we are looking forward to many more. I know some of you only recently found us, joining us as we tried to figure out a way to safely get food from the farmer to your kitchens during a pandemic. I’m hopeful at some point this year we’ll be able to return to the more social ways of 2019 instead of loading up your car behind several layers of protection.
Many of our growers are have slowed down for the winter, delivering every other week or otherwise reducing their availability. Many others, however, are still going strong thanks to greenhouses and other season-extending methods. Now that the holiday season is behind us, we’ll be going every single week from now until our next week off — Thanksgiving.
Every new year I re-discover an article that wonderfully illustrated why I run ALG, and why I started my own little vegetable farm back in 2002. It uses the simple dish that’s traditionally served on New Year’s Day, Hoppin’ John, to show how much our food supply has changed in the last several decades, and how much flavor, nutrition, and diversity we nearly lost forever along the way. Small farms like those who sell through ALG, with the support of people like you who are wanting locally grown, fresh, flavorful foods, have started to turn the tide and have just barely managed to keep some of the old foods around. Many people eat Hoppin’ John and wonder why the bland mix of mushy beans and rice became a tradition and the truth is that’s not what became a tradition, it’s just what we were stuck with when the food system changed around us. Have a read of the full article — I think you’ll enjoy it: http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/12/southern-hoppin-john-new-years-tradition.html.
Each January, I devote the first few mailings of the year to the behind the scenes operation of ALG. This week, I’m going to talk about the many legal issues surrounding our market. Even though many people call us “the co-op”, ALG is legally a market owned and operated by me, so I can have a place to sell items I occasionally offer from my own gardens. There’s no board of directors, no shield corporation, no pot of grant money. It’s just me, and while that keeps things very simple, it also exposes me and my family to a ton of potential liability. It’s never really been an issue (except when the whole raw milk thing erupted several years ago) and there are several things I do specifically to minimize that risk:
- The growers list their own items and set their own prices. When you buy from them, it is from them, not from me, and not from Athens Locally Grown.
- Athens Locally Grown never takes ownership or possession of the food. The growers drop it off, and you pick it up.
- Everything at the market has a customer’s name attached to it when it arrives. ALG does not repackage any items, or buy in bulk for redistribution.
- When you pay, you’re paying into a shared cash box for all of the growers. This lets you write a single check or charge your card once for convenience, but you are really paying all of the growers directly and individually. Your money goes in, and the software I wrote to keep everything going spits out checks for each of the growers you buy from.
- The growers give a small percentage of their sales, generally 10%, back to the market to cover the many expenses of keeping the market going. I’ll cover the details of finances another week.
- ALG never buys from a grower and resells the items to you. Never.
- When a grower sells items that need licenses from either the state or the federal government, ALG verifies that the proper licenses have been obtained.
The ownership issue is key. It’s one of the reasons why we don’t offer delivery, and why we usually can’t hold items for you if you aren’t able to pick up your orders. Farmers market delivery could be a good business for someone, but it’s not at all what I personally want to be into. Many food co-ops and even some farmers markets aren’t as careful with keeping ownership as straight as I try to be, and that has gotten other groups similar to us into serious legal trouble (deserved or not) over the years. There are so many grey areas in all this, and the written regulations still don’t even consider that something like Athens Locally Grown might exist. We’re so firmly in the grey areas with most everything we do that it’s just too risky for me to bring us into the areas that are clearly black.
So, these are the sorts of things that guide my thinking as Athens Locally Grown has grown over the years. Everything we do has legal ramifications, and the state of Georgia has a reputation for being no nonsense when it comes to enforcement — with the little guy, anyway. That has became extra obvious in recent years, and the FDA is also putting pressure on groups like us too. I’m not a lawyer, but every time we enter those grey areas, I make sure we follow the intent of the laws, don’t flaunt anything, and have a good defense and a paper trail should we need it. And when that doesn’t work, the good folks at the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund are behind us. They have consumer memberships, too, and I do encourage everyone who is able to become a member of the FtCLDF.
The FtCLDF was my legal counsel in the federal lawsuit against the FDA I (and one of our members) was a plaintiff on. The lawsuit was in response to the seizure and destruction of 110 gallons of South Carolina milk purchased by ALG members in October 2009. During the pre-trial phase, the FDA moved to dismiss the suit, and went so far as to claim that the milk dumping, filmed and placed on YouTube, with an FDA agent clearly identified, never happened. The judge refused to dismiss, and gave the FDA six months to give a yes or no answer to whether what we did is really considered illegal. Exactly six months later, they responded that it was illegal, but also claimed that even though an FDA agent was at my house giving direction, they had no hand in the dumping. They also went on record stating that individuals were legally free to cross state lines and buy raw milk to take home with them (something that the FDA agent at my house said, on camera, was completely illegal under all circumstances). After that, the judge dismissed the suit without fully ruling whether ALG was also free to facilitate our members collectively ordering and picking up milk across state lines. In any case, the state of Georgia still says what we were doing was illegal and even tightened the rules right afterward, so raw milk is still rather hard to come by.
And there in a nutshell is the legalities behind ALG. In the following weeks, I’ll get more into the nuts and bolts of finances and other aspects of how we work.
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 masked 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 and the West Broad Farmers Market are both taking a few weeks off, but they’ll return soon. 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 December 31
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
We’re back for our final market pick-up for 2020! Some of our producers are still on holiday so the listings are a bit lighter than usual, but we’ll be back to normal in no time.
Looking ahead to this Thursday, it’s going to be gross. We’ve done pick-ups in the rain, in total darkness, and in the cold, but we’ve never done all three at once. Be patient with us as we’re going to have to keep everything inside and bring them out one car at a time. It’s been nice to have everything out with me on the shelves, but that just can’t happen in the rain.
We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new masked 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
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 brand new home on Tallassee Road!
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 and the West Broad Farmers Market are both taking a few weeks off, but they’ll return soon. 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 Reminder: We are closed this week!
Hi there! This is just a reminder that Athens Locally Grown will be closed this week to allow our growers to celebrate Christmas and all the other holidays occurring this week. We shall return at our regular time next 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 next week!
ALG Market Open for December 17
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
Winter officially starts next week, and so the days will soon start getting longer once again. There are plenty of holidays these next few weeks, and I hope whichever ones you celebrate are as joyful as they can be (especially with all the challenges this year has brought). We are giving the growers a bit of a holiday and will be closed next week so if there’s anything you need for your holiday meals next week, be sure to order it for pickup this Thursday. We will be back the following week for our final pickup of 2020 on New Year’s Eve.
Another announcement I have is, as predicted, you all snapped up almost all of the first shipment of wild Alaskan fish from Doug, but he assures me he’ll return to my house soon with another load to fill up his freezer. There was a bit of a mix-up last week, however, and some of you received halibut filets that were smaller than those described on the website. If that happened to you, please let me know and we’ll make things right.
Some of our growers will be taking time off over the next few weeks, and between that and winter you’d think there wouldn’t be much to sell. I see 399 different products listed this week, however, including 79 listings for veggies. I love all the creativity and diversity all our growers bring to market, even hen the days are cold and short.
Finally, once again we will be closed next week but I’m looking forward to seeing you all (from the safety of your cars) this Thursday!
We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new masked 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
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 brand new home on Tallassee Road!
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. It’s not anything like it was before, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back too, 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. 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 December 10
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 big ALG news this week is Doug was finally able to return home from Alaska, and Friday he brought a load of fish over to the freezer he keeps at my house. It’s just a partial first delivery, so it’s likely we’ll sell out of the current stock very quickly. He will be returning soon with more, so if you miss out on this first batch, more is on the way!
We’re still working out the details of our holiday market schedule, but right now it looks like we’ll be closed the week of Christmas and open again on the week of New Year’s. Both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on Thursdays this year. I’ll let you know for certain soon, but right now that’s how things look.
It’ll be cold and dark again for order pickups on Thursday. It gets super dark out there on Tallassee, but I’ve been buying some rechargeable lights so you can more easily see us and the driveway. Each week I’ve been bringing more, and I have another shipment arriving tomorrow. Just a few weeks more, and the days will start getting longer again!
We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new masked 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
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 brand new home on Tallassee Road!
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. It’s not anything like it was before, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back too, 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. 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 December 3
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
Hello again! I hope you all had a pleasant week, able to spend time with your household and having time to reflect on the things to be thankful for (even while fretting over the many things out there to fret over). Looking ahead on the calendar, I’ve realized both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are on Thursday this year. I know we’ll be taking the week off on the 24th, and I’ll consult with the growers to see if they’ll want to deliver on New Year’s Eve. The last time that happened on a Thursday we closed, but it’s not like we have parties to go to this year…
We’ve managed to stay free of frost well past the usual dates, at least here in town proper. It was great to have fresh beans and peppers on my holiday table last week! The cold is going to catch up to us in a big way, though, this week. If you’ve got plants outside, get them ready for nighttime temps in the 20s in a couple days. Many of our growers have some greenhouses and other means of extending the season, but all the “easy” work is now behind them.
It’ll be cold and dark for order pickups on Thursday. It gets super dark out there on Tallassee, but I’ve been buying some rechargeable lights so you can more easily see us and the driveway. I hope that helps!
We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new masked faces!) so for all of you here’s a quick run-down on how Thursdays go:
- Don’t arrive at the beginning of your pickup window if you’ve got that flexibility. We fill the bags alphabetically (because it’s easier on us that way), but your arrival time or last name has no bearing on what items you get. The growers fill orders based solely on the time you placed your order, so that’s all been long decided by Thursday. Take your time getting there and that’ll naturally spread things out a bit. Flatten the curve, if you will.
- I’m bad with faces as it is, and masks make it even harder to recognize you and even hear you when you give your name. Many of you had papers with your name written in big letters we could read through the window, and that is wonderful. If you think to do that same, it’ll make things even smoother.
- The pickup loop does have a fair bit of room, but we don’t want you backing up into Tallassee. If you arrive faster than we can deliver orders, we may ask you to pull ahead into the loop and circle around. That may mean that some people who arrived after you may get their food before you, but as I said above, that doesn’t affect at all what items you get when things run short.
- We’ve still got three pickup windows, and it’s totally ok if you come later than the slot you chose. If you come early, odds are high that we haven’t filled your bags yet and we may ask you to come back. Tallassee is a pretty drive, and I recommend taking it to the county line and back, just for the scenery.
- We’re not accepting in-person payments unless absolutely necessary. We’ll have a drop box for checks or labelled envelopes of cash, but we greatly prefer Venmo payments to @athenslocallygrown or online payments through a card tied to your account. Venmo is free, and card payments have a 3% processing fee.
- We can not accept any recycling just yet, though that may change once we get settled.
- We cannot take your own bags or bins out of your car and fill them up
- If you’d like to go through your items before you leave to make sure you’ve got everything, or that we didn’t mix up people’s items, feel free to pull into the lot and have a look.
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 brand new home on Tallassee Road!
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. It’s not anything like it was before, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back too, 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. 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 Reminder: We are closed this week!
Hi there! This is just a reminder that Athens Locally Grown will be closed this week to allow us all to celebrate Thanksgiving. If you need a last minute item from our local farmers, Heirloom Cafe on Chase Street will be hosting a mini version of the Athens Farmers Market from 11-2 on Wednesday.
If you’re still looking for inspiration and recipes, of course the internet has no shortage of Thanksgiving suggestions. Here are some of my favorites that I return to every year:
- Thanksgiving Recipes from The Splendid Table
- Rachel Ray’s Farmers Market Thanksgiving
- Roasted root vegetable pot pie
- A soup-to-nuts plan for a homegrown holiday meal
I am very thankful for all the food options available to us provided by members of our community who care about the health of both the people eating the food they provide and the land from which it came from. And I find it very fitting that I get to express these thanks via a meal made from that very same food.
Thanks also to you, and happy Thanksgiving! We’ll see you in two weeks.
ALG Market Open for November 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
Here’s a reminder that we’ll be taking next week, the week of Thanksgiving off, as we do every year. We will be open as usual this week, so if there are things you’d like for your Thanksgiving meals, you’ll need to plan ahead and order them early. If you need local produce next week, Collective Harvest CSA is doing a special pre-order market (much like ALG) with pickups at their Baxter Street office. You can find info here: https://www.collectiveharvestathens.com/thanksgivingmarket. Heirloom Cafe is also holding their traditional mini farmers market in their parking lot on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, from 11am until 2pm. Meanwhile, stock up from us this week!
We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new masked faces!) so for all of you here’s a quick run-down on how Thursdays go:
- Don’t arrive at the beginning of your pickup window if you’ve got that flexibility. We fill the bags alphabetically (because it’s easier on us that way), but your arrival time or last name has no bearing on what items you get. The growers fill orders based solely on the time you placed your order, so that’s all been long decided by Thursday. Take your time getting there and that’ll naturally spread things out a bit. Flatten the curve, if you will.
- I’m bad with faces as it is, and masks make it even harder to recognize you and even hear you when you give your name. Many of you had papers with your name written in big letters we could read through the window, and that is wonderful. If you think to do that same, it’ll make things even smoother.
- The pickup loop does have a fair bit of room, but we don’t want you backing up into Tallassee. If you arrive faster than we can deliver orders, we may ask you to pull ahead into the loop and circle around. That may mean that some people who arrived after you may get their food before you, but as I said above, that doesn’t affect at all what items you get when things run short.
- We’ve still got three pickup windows, and it’s totally ok if you come later than the slot you chose. If you come early, odds are high that we haven’t filled your bags yet and we may ask you to come back. Tallassee is a pretty drive, and I recommend taking it to the county line and back, just for the scenery.
- We’re not accepting in-person payments unless absolutely necessary. We’ll have a drop box for checks or labelled envelopes of cash, but we greatly prefer Venmo payments to @athenslocallygrown or online payments through a card tied to your account. Venmo is free, and card payments have a 3% processing fee.
- We can not accept any recycling just yet, though that may change once we get settled.
- We cannot take your own bags or bins out of your car and fill them up
- If you’d like to go through your items before you leave to make sure you’ve got everything, or that we didn’t mix up people’s items, feel free to pull into the lot and have a look.
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 brand new home on Tallassee Road!
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. It’s not anything like it was before, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back too, 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. 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 November 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
Many of our outlying farms got hit with several nights of frost last week, but Athens proper stayed several degrees above the frost point. Looks like it’ll be a week of balmy nights ahead, so my own peppers, tomatoes, and basil will keep right on producing. If I’m lucky, my garden will provide for a fair bit of the Thanksgiving table.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, that’s only two short weeks away! ALG operates year-round, even after all of the other area markets close, but there is one week we take off every year: the week of Thanksgiving. We will be open as usual the rest of November, so if there are things you’d like for your Thanksgiving meals, you’ll need to plan ahead and order them early. Naturally, I’ve get asked if I know of any local growers with turkeys available. We have in years past had ALG growers raising turkeys, but most everyone has stopped trying. Domestic turkeys, even heritage breeds, have a really hard time with the heat and humidities of our summers, and so take an enormous amount of labor to raise well. As the holiday gets closer, I may get a few leads on a handful of locally raised heritage turkeys, and if so, I’ll share them with you.
Finally, I get asked from time to time if any of our growers need help on the farm. Sundance Farm, just outside of town in Danielsville, is looking for part-time help right now, especially is nice there’s lots of work needed to get the hoop houses in shape for winter crops. Here’s what Ed Janosik has to say: “Sundance Farm is looking for part time farm workers. Great attitude and interest in organic farming are desired requirements. Flexible hours for any energetic person. Pleasant working conditions, lots of fresh air. Contact organicsundance@aol.com”
We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new masked faces!) so for all of you here’s a quick run-down on how Thursdays go:
- Don’t arrive at the beginning of your pickup window if you’ve got that flexibility. We fill the bags alphabetically (because it’s easier on us that way), but your arrival time or last name has no bearing on what items you get. The growers fill orders based solely on the time you placed your order, so that’s all been long decided by Thursday. Take your time getting there and that’ll naturally spread things out a bit. Flatten the curve, if you will.
- I’m bad with faces as it is, and masks make it even harder to recognize you and even hear you when you give your name. Many of you had papers with your name written in big letters we could read through the window, and that is wonderful. If you think to do that same, it’ll make things even smoother.
- The pickup loop does have a fair bit of room, but we don’t want you backing up into Tallassee. If you arrive faster than we can deliver orders, we may ask you to pull ahead into the loop and circle around. That may mean that some people who arrived after you may get their food before you, but as I said above, that doesn’t affect at all what items you get when things run short.
- We’ve still got three pickup windows, and it’s totally ok if you come later than the slot you chose. If you come early, odds are high that we haven’t filled your bags yet and we may ask you to come back. Tallassee is a pretty drive, and I recommend taking it to the county line and back, just for the scenery.
- We’re not accepting in-person payments unless absolutely necessary. We’ll have a drop box for checks or labelled envelopes of cash, but we greatly prefer Venmo payments to @athenslocallygrown or online payments through a card tied to your account. Venmo is free, and card payments have a 3% processing fee.
- We can not accept any recycling just yet, though that may change once we get settled.
- We cannot take your own bags or bins out of your car and fill them up
- If you’d like to go through your items before you leave to make sure you’ve got everything, or that we didn’t mix up people’s items, feel free to pull into the lot and have a look.
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 brand new home on Tallassee Road!
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. It’s not anything like it was before, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back too, 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. 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 November 5
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
Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful week, just the sort that the cool weather leafy greens love. We’re due for our first frost, and it’s going to get close to it tonight but I think Athens is safe for another week or two yet. Many of our growers though spent the day covering their crops and getting their beds ready for a few nights of cold. I’ve still got lots of basil and a few peppers in my garden that needs to be harvested, and that’ll make even more room for kale, chard, broccoli and more. Our summer was so mild this year that I still have several plants sill going strong from last year, but it’s not too late to get even moe seedlings in the ground for eating all through the winter.
ALG operates year-round, even after all of the other area markets close, but there is one week we take off every year: the week of Thanksgiving. We will be open as usual the rest of November, so if there are things you’d like for your Thanksgiving meals, you’ll need to plan ahead and order them early. Naturally, I’ve get asked if I know of any local growers with turkeys available. We have in years past had ALG growers raising turkeys, but most everyone has stopped trying. Domestic turkeys, even heritage breeds, have a really hard time with the heat and humidities of our summers, and so take an enormous amount of labor to raise well. As the holiday gets closer, I may get a few leads on a handful of locally raised heritage turkeys, and if so, I’ll share them with you.
We are still getting new customers every week (and we love seeing new masked faces!) so for all of you here’s a quick run-down on how Thursdays go:
- Don’t arrive at the beginning of your pickup window if you’ve got that flexibility. We fill the bags alphabetically (because it’s easier on us that way), but your arrival time or last name has no bearing on what items you get. The growers fill orders based solely on the time you placed your order, so that’s all been long decided by Thursday. Take your time getting there and that’ll naturally spread things out a bit. Flatten the curve, if you will.
- I’m bad with faces as it is, and masks make it even harder to recognize you and even hear you when you give your name. Many of you had papers with your name written in big letters we could read through the window, and that is wonderful. If you think to do that same, it’ll make things even smoother.
- The pickup loop does have a fair bit of room, but we don’t want you backing up into Tallassee. If you arrive faster than we can deliver orders, we may ask you to pull ahead into the loop and circle around. That may mean that some people who arrived after you may get their food before you, but as I said above, that doesn’t affect at all what items you get when things run short.
- We’ve still got three pickup windows, and it’s totally ok if you come later than the slot you chose. If you come early, odds are high that we haven’t filled your bags yet and we may ask you to come back. Tallassee is a pretty drive, and I recommend taking it to the county line and back, just for the scenery.
- We’re not accepting in-person payments unless absolutely necessary. We’ll have a drop box for checks or labelled envelopes of cash, but we greatly prefer Venmo payments to @athenslocallygrown or online payments through a card tied to your account. Venmo is free, and card payments have a 3% processing fee.
- We can not accept any recycling just yet, though that may change once we get settled.
- We cannot take your own bags or bins out of your car and fill them up
- If you’d like to go through your items before you leave to make sure you’ve got everything, or that we didn’t mix up people’s items, feel free to pull into the lot and have a look.
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 brand new home on Tallassee Road!
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. It’s not anything like it was before, so you’ll want to read up on all the changes on their website, http://athensfarmersmarket.net. The West Broad Farmers Market is back too, 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. 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!