The Oxford Farmer’s Market on West Jackson Loop on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013
Photo by Austin McAfee I The Daily Mississippian
The Oxford City Market, started last May, was created to combat food insecurity and to promote regional agricultural commerce alongside promoting local artists and musicians.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies Oxford as a food desert, meaning low-income families have little access to groceries, and offered the city a $61,258 grant to create the Market, which is open every Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. until Thanksgiving.
There are 29 vendors currently in operation at the Oxford City Market who accept many forms of payment including EBT benefits.
“Oxford is a fairly progressive community with many who support eating healthy and locally,” said Katie Morrison, director of Oxford City Market.
Morrison works to coordinate sustainable practices in sourcing produce.
“When I receive an application from a local farm, I schedule a day to drive out there and look around to make sure that their crops are fresh and organic,” Morrison said. “We don’t want anyone driving to Memphis to buy groceries there then selling them here.”
Morrison said that many local farmers also ensure that their crops are truly organic through the Certified Naturally Grown program.
“The farmers with the CNG status can inspect other farms who apply for the status,” Morrison said. “The CNG status is proof that the crops really are fresh, not advertised as.”
The environmental impact of local farmers is positive for Oxonians looking to shrink their carbon footprint and eat fresh, clean food.
Through a Community Supported Agriculture network offered by several farms that sell their produce at Oxford City Market, individuals buy a timeshare to receive fresh groceries throughout the year.
“The city market can be a form of CSA for the local farmers,” Morrison said. “It gives the organic, sustainable farmers access to the community and the local market.”
Yoknapatawpha Bottoms Farm is one such farm with both CNG and CSA status. Nestled eight miles outside of Oxford, the farm was founded by Douglas Davis, professor in The University of Mississippi’s School of Education.
“I bought the land when I arrived at the university in 2007, and I met with people who wanted to farm,” Davis said. “The farm is for the younger people who are interested in producing fresher crops, which helps the community and the land.”
Betsy Chapman, a local artist who works with Yoknapatawpha Bottoms Farm, was selling sweet potatoes, turnip greens, arugula and green onions and butter beans with sweet ‘n’ spicy peppers at the Oxford City Market.
“There are no synthetic chemicals or pesticides on our crops,” Chapman said. “If we see a bug, we squish it!”
The farm instead uses insects such as ladybugs to eat other insects.
“Some bugs really are good for us,” Chapman said.
The environment is benefiting from Yoknapatawpha Bottoms Farm’s proximity as well.
“We have a smaller carbon footprint,” Chapman said. “This is because we are only a few miles away in Water Valley, unlike Kroger, who ship their tomatoes from other countries. We do not waste as much fossil fuel as commercial grocery stores do.”
The farm’s strict avoidance of pesticides and genetically engineered seeds creates community health in hand with environmental stability.
“The grocery store food tastes old; they’re not as fresh as our food,” Chapman said. “Our food is not polluted and good for everyone and the land.”
Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network, an Oxford-based statewide organization for small farmers, began last January to connect local farmers and provides research on growing sustainable, organic crops.
Program coordinator Daniel Doyle believes in the capacity of the organization to make a difference.
“Our lives revolve around convenience,” Doyle said. “People don’t go by what’s best for our health or for our land but by what’s convenient to grow, harvest and buy. People shy away from difficult things such as local farming, but we want to reach out and show that organic farming can be done.”
Now nearing its one-year anniversary, the agriculture network is expanding.
The organization has six demonstration farms and helps other farms transition into more organic and business-efficient farming.
“To the people who are looking for a purpose,” Doyle said, “I can’t think of anything better than providing healthy food for your community.”
-Callie McDaniels
dmeditor@gmail.com
