August Excellence
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.”
August is Black Business Month. With that in mind, I wanted to highlight the vendors at our market! They are the epitome of Black Business.
Loy of Loy’s Farmers Market works tirelessly to source fresh fruits and vegetables for the Middle Georgia Area. He has been featured in Macon Magazine’s Food Issue, which he has at his stand on Pio Nono. When he is not at our market helping us feed downtown, he is there at his Pio Nono location. Loy also partners with other local businesses to bring you coffee and other wonderful locally produced goods! This Macon Magazine article highlights Loy’s journey!
Ms. Eva of Middle Georgia Novelties, one of our produce vendors, has a massive garden that she has planted to help feed not only our community here, but her family as well. She also has a wealth of knowledge about herbs and how they work with our bodies to help keep us healthy and spice up our food. I love to talk with her! She also has really tasty boiled peanuts. Her business stems from her knowledge handed down to her from her mother and grandmothers.
Ms. Shirley is a baker with the markets here in town. She brings delicious cakes, cookies, and cheese straws each week. She also has a cookbook! They are for sale wherever she is selling her wonderful desserts and baked goods!
Lacole of Marie’s Baked Goodies is a baker as well! She and Ms. Shirley both bring something unique to their brand of baking each week! Lacole’s cakes and mini pies are a wonderful addition at any meal! If you’re looking for old fashioned cakes, look no further than Lacole or Ms. Shirley!
Keisha of Rosa Ray’s Farm Fresh started making jams and jellies a few years ago and soon she added on sweet milk bread. You can find her at several different markets here in the Macon and Jackson areas. Her jams and jellies are made with such care and creativity! When she added in her breads, she made sure that they were perfected before we ever saw them. The care with which she creates her food shines in every bite of bread and every slather of jam.
Mr. Porter of Porter’s Place retired from his job at Central State Hospital and didn’t stop working! Mr. Porter is a potter, wood worker, crocheter, gardener, photographer, and rehabber of all things! And probably some other things that I can’t remember! He brings wonderful food and decorative items to the markets here in Macon! If you ever have a chance to visit with him, he has many beautiful turned wood items, refurbished frames for his photography, pottery items, and plants! I love that he brings starts for your very own gardens, he is full of information on how to care for these plants as well. He brings so much love and care with his plants!
Ashley Woodford of A. Nichole Presents is an artist extraordinaire! She makes art in pretty much everything she sees! She brings her canvases and jewelry to the market, but she has much more! Here is an article from Voyage ATL about her!
Sierra Smith of Cafe Heart Projects is a multimedia artist as well! She has a number of different projects going on currently. She has an AS in Studio Art and her main inspiration comes from mythology, fairy tales, and gothic literature.
Mandisa Randolph with Sweet Rain Vegan Bakery has worked tirelessly to bring us sweet treats that are plant based! She has a variety of vegan desserts that you would never know are plant based! Her creativity is apparent in everything she makes from her cupcakes to her cookies and everything in between. She provides vegan baked goods for Middle Georgia and Atlanta areas. Macon Telegraph has more about her delicious plant based desserts.
Links:
https://maconmagazine.com/feeding-everyone/
https://voyageatl.com/interview/check-out-ashley-woodfords-story/
Ms. Eva is enjoying family time, so she will be back next week! Loy is bringing peaches, plums (five different varieties!), strawberries, watermelon (these could be some of the last ones, so be sure to come get them!), tomatoes, onions, and peppers. He likes to surprise us with a few extras, too, so be sure to come on out and see what he has!
Don’t forget your jams, jellies, and breads; cakes and cookies! Rosa Ray’s, Ms. Shirley, Marie’s Baked Goodies, and Bon Bon Bakery all have a wonderful selection of baked goods!
We are steadily growing, so if you would like to be a part of our community of vendors, let’s talk! We would love to have you! Our goal is to provide food for the body and the soul, so if you are a gardener or farmer or an artist or crafter or baker, you are welcome at our market! Click here for the vendor application link.
We are a partner market with Wholesome Wave Georgia to help make your dollars go further at our market!
Bring your SNAP/EBT card to the market tent to double your spending power!
Where to find us:
We are always looking for more people to join our fun! If you or anyone you know is interested in becoming a vendor at our market, follow the link below for our vendor application!
Just a hint of all the fun we have to offer! Come join us!