By: R. Tiara Malone
The fall feels are abound at Oxford Community Market. I stopped by one Tuesday as director Betsy Chapman and a host of volunteers set up ahead of the 3p opening. Betsy is speaking to the jovial Mr. Aldridge, an anchor vendor at OCM. He’s been a faithful vendor for 8 years providing fresh eggs, home-baked goods and canned jams. Betsy is excited to tell me about the burgeoning fall harvest consisting of leafy greens and roots vegetables. She is truly a burst of fresh air, speaking passionately about her work. This is Chapman’s 9th year as director and she, nor the market, show any signs of slowing down. My motive for speaking with Betsy was to learn about her efforts at the market. What I received was an invaluable education on food sustainability, economics, and grassroots movements. Betsy’s service goes well beyond food marketing jargone.g. “slow food” and “farm to table.” A teacher, community organizer and advocate, Betsy courageously does her part to combat food insecurity. With a host of cheerful volunteers, she makes change happen in Oxford.
“(the market) is a chance to talk to people growing your food. Why and how they grow what they grow…what their values are as stewards of land.”
–Betsy Chapman
Director, Oxford Community Market
Tell me about yourself and the Oxford Community Market?
We are, essentially, a year-round market. We’re open every Tuesday with our busiest seasons being spring and summer. There has also been a lot of growth in our fall and winter seasons. Initially, we started as a 32 week market, then 36 weeks. Finally, we decided we needed a market that reflects the long-growing season that we have in Mississippi. This allows growers to increase revenue so they won’t have to rely solely on tomato season, for example.
Can you talk a bit about the process of choosing vendors?
We have an accessible and affordable application process, it’s simple. Our market is intentionally a food market so we’re looking to fill our space with farmers and small food producers. We’ll accept a small number of handmade items but we need those goods to relate to home and garden. We’re really trying to create a space for the promotion of our local food system. There is a small booth fee that covers logistics as well as promotion and marketing. There are also opportunities for vendors to teach cooking classes, providing additional revenue. So we are constantly looking to make the market more valuable for our vendors beyond just market days.
On the outreach initiatives
The very heart of our mission is to improve access to local food. That is why we do it. We are attempting to create a local food system that is not just about farm to table. High quality accessible food should be accessible to everyone in our community. We continually strive to challenge the notion that good things cannot be accessible to everyone. We’re only doing our job if our customer base reflects the entirety of our community. We will do whatever we can to make sure everyone knows about the market and feels comfortable coming here. There are many barriers to accessing healthy, local food.
What are some barriers to healthy, local food that you’ve seen?
The biggest barrier is economics: you eat based on how much money you have in your pocket. Our job is to incentivize and make it possible for all community members to have access to healthy and local food, without regards to their economic status. Our market accepts SNAP benefits, WIC and Senior Farmer’s Market Nutrition Voucher Program. Additionally, we also have created our own voucher program which we call gift certificates. We give these to people facing food insecurity especially seniors. Finally, we deliver meals every Friday afternoon; this past Friday we delivered over 200 meals to 3 neighborhoods.
In an ideal future with unlimited resources, what role do you see farmers markets playing?
I think what we’ve been doing so far, just on a wider scale. We scale up our existing practices to increase the demand for local food. We’ve seen our market expand gradually and reach more people. If we have more people shopping at farmer’s markets, we’re going to start producing more. It follows the supply and demand model.
What’s been the biggest challenge of running a farmer’s market?
We need a permanent location so we can grow over the next few years. There is a waiting list for vendors and local food is becoming more popular so we need space to keep up with demand. The key thing we need for our market to continue to thrive is a permanent location.
Betsy’s Top 5
Fav dish: Good ol’ country cooking: chicken and dumplings, purple hull peas with bacon, green beans, sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper, cornbread...I associate those foods with comfort and family.
Fav musician band: In my wilder years it was the Rolling Stones. As far as singer-songwriters Tom Waits, John Prine, Townes Van Zandt—they really get to my heart
Fav past time: Recently, it’s been daily walking. I have time to think, decompress, clear my head and get fresh air. It brings a little more balance into my life.
Fav spot in Oxford: OCM because it is the most unique experience I‘ve ever had. It draws people from all walks of life. No other gathering do you get this kind of diversity. Every week it’s like a family reunion.
Fav sports team: Hotty Toddy! Go Rebels!
To learn more about the Oxford Community Farmer’s Market, visit their website here or join us Thursday, Oct. 19th for the Fall Campus Market on Galtney-Lott Plaza, from 10am-2pm.
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