Fresh From the Farm

Overcast skies did not keep customers from the first day opening of the Saturday morning. In its second year, the market continues to provide the community with fresh seasonal produce, meat and eggs, baked goods and an assortment of other locally prepared items.

“It’s been more than I ever could have dreamed,” said Gretchen Schulz, chair of the Snellville Farmers' Market committee and one of the founding members.

What started out as a retirement project for Schulz and other committee members, has grown into a full-time operation and mission to provide the best in accessible fresh food. Schulz had spent years working with Georgia’s school nutrition programs at the state level and was the president of the Georgia School Food Service Association in 2002. What she found was that younger children consumed healthy foods if they had direct interaction with the food sources.

“Children are much more apt to eat fruits and vegetables if they could pick them themselves,” said Schulz.

With that in mind, Schulz partnered with other Snellville citizens to provide a family friendly atmosphere that promoted local, sustainable food and a healthy lifestyle.

The market currently has more than 50 vendors selling everything from homemade pasta to frozen fresh fruit pops. Live music adds to the homey atmosphere.

Pat Groves manages the regulatory side of the market, making sure that vendors have the licenses they need to operate. This provides a safety net for consumers and vendors that all items sold at Snellville’s farmers' market are purchasable and safe to consume.

Schulz added that the committee visits all farms to ensure that local farmers are harvesting what they are selling. As a result, Snellville Farmers' Market has maintained a high standard for providing the best experience for the customer and seller.

“It gives vendors confidence and it gives the customer confidence,” Groves said.

Vendors Bring Character

What really adds charm to the market is the people behind the booths. The vendors sell more than goods; they share a bit of personality and passion for what they do.

Take Michael Joseph of MJ’s Vegetables for example. He moved to Lithonia from Guyana and immediately used his backyard to grow his own vegetables.

“It’s a way of life for most people [in Guyana],” he said. Some neighbors questioned his growing “weed population” not realizing he was using his backyard as a mini-farm.

Once his garden outgrew even his own needs, Joseph began sharing his produce with neighbors and local Jamaican and Caribbean restaurants. Soon he found out about the Snellville Farmers' Market and began selling his produce. He encourages everyone to use their yards to grow vegetables and not focus too much on the aesthetics.

“Beautify with flowers,” he said.

Another vendor Neil Singley, a 68-year-old farmer, is as down-home as it comes. He has lived on his land off of Five Forks Trickum since he was born. He’s plowed a mule and his wife had plowed and picked cotton where the Brookwood High School baseball fields now stand. He has seen a lot of change in the community and quips that he remembers when the Five Forks area had “just a school bus and a mailman.”

Singley sells tomatoes, including Heirloom varieties, plants, fresh scallions, squash and beans. With names like Early Birds, Better Boy and Mortgage Lifter, there are some unique flavors of tomatoes that cannot be found at the local supermarket. Singley’s a connoisseur of sorts of the tomato. He says the key to growing a tomato plant is the type of soil mix you create. His contains a variety of things, including Epsom salt and powdered baby’s milk.

Vendor Brandon Sandy of Dillwood Farms in Loganville comes from a culinary background. As a sous chef at Rathbun’s in downtown Atlanta, his passion for quality cooking flourished. However, long hours that kept him away from his growing family pushed him to seek a new venture that combined his love of food and local, sustainable products. At Dillwood Farms he helps harvest seasonal fare like Swiss chard, peas, blueberries and parsley.

The family owned farm sells produce to several high-end restaurants, including Rathbun’s, Abattoir, Farm Burger and Two Urban Licks. They also manage a community supported agriculture program, where customers can purchase produce online and pick up their items at designated locations in the Atlanta area. This gives anyone the opportunity to access fresh-from-the-farm fruits and vegetables that are at their highest peak in season.

Sandy says that Dillwood Farms plans to offer their produce at local restaurants in the Gwinnett County area, as well as expand to offer tours and cooking demos on-site.

Market Adds Crafts

Schulz believes the future looks bright for the Snellville Farmers' Market.

“We’re just real excited, and we’ve gotten so many positive comments,” she said.

Location has been a big draw for the market, as it can be seen from off of Main Street right in front of the . New for this year is a craft village that will be situated alongside the sidewalk at city hall.

Schulz wants to keep the farmers' market strictly produce, baked goods and anything that has a relation to food or gardening. The demand for crafts has expanded the market to also include the "Craft and Antique Village" that will run the first Saturday of each month from June until October.

Currently, the market is looking for more produce sellers. Those interested can go to www.snellvillefarmersmarket.com and download the policies and procedures and apply for a vendor booth. The market will be open from May until October every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m.