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| Market makes opportunity for this rural Indiana town |
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PAOLI, Ind. — Gourmet groceries and local foods seem to be the mantra these days for many upscale communities. Commonly, these notions are taking off in the suburbs, but not small rural towns.
Yet, one Indiana town is breaking the mold – and with the motto “Healthy Choices Close to Home,” the Lost River Market and Deli in tiny Paoli is making a difference to consumers and local farmers alike.
“We’re a consumer co-op, not producer co-op, and we’re dedicated to consumers and owned by consumers, but we have a large emphasis on local goods,” began Debbie Turner, treasurer of the Lost River Cooperative board of directors and volunteer project manager during the co-op’s organization.
Lost River is a small store that focuses on natural products of all kinds. At the store’s opening in October, more than 15 percent of the inventory was from local purveyors. That number is expected to increase exponentially during the summer months as the region’s produce bounty comes into bloom.
“We’ve spent over $10,000 with 16 local vendors, and that is totally new business for those vendors,” noted Turner, of the market’s impact on producers.
The idea for Lost River Market came from many interested volunteers. The founding organization was the Orange County Home Grown group, which manages the successful farmers’ market in nearby Orleans, Ind.
“We had 125 to 150 local vendors and we saw the economic impact the farmers’ market had on those producers,” Turner said. “We also saw the impact on the customers and when we saw that relationship, we wanted to strengthen it.”
The co-op’s formation was remarkably quick and it is a model of collaboration between farmers and small-town volunteers. With the aid of groups such as the Indiana Cooperative Development Center, the national organization Food Co-op 500 and nearby Bloomingfoods in Bloomington, Ind., Lost River found needed professional guidance.
The store’s namesake river offers a sense of place. “The Lost River goes through the county and you can only see parts of the river bed because it goes underground through the cave system, and then literally bubbles up in the western part of the county,” Turner explained. “The Lost River is pervasive throughout the county and is very unique.”
Keeping with the theme of abundance and the river are the growers who are able to supply the store year-round.
“I just loved this area and the beautiful land here,” said Andrew Gilleo, owner of Tater Road Farm near Hardinsburg, Ind.
Gilleo, a native of Ohio, is one of several vendors employed at the store part-time. He also sells root vegetables such as onions, shallots and garlic, as well as eggs all winter.
Another vendor-employee is Espri Bender-Beauregard of Brambleberry Farm, three miles east of Paoli. She and her husband, Darren, offer eggs and lemongrass in the winter.
“I also make hardwood kitchen utensils on the rainy days,” she said.
The couple also operate a noncertified organic CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and like many Lost River vendors, it was through the Orleans farmers’ market that she learned of the new store idea.
While producer involvement is important, the store is operated as a business, complete with General Manager Brad Alstrom. The membership stands at 496, just shy of the goal of 500 for which store organizers have been striving.
“The vision for the store is 80 percent natural, organic or locally grown, with 20 percent commercial product,” said Alstrom of the items stocking the shelves.
Amazingly, the store’s major competition is Wal-Mart and Whole Foods Market across the river in Louisville, Ky. Alstrom has been surprised by the types of customers who shop at Lost River, but attributes their interest in part to the commitment of being a member.
“(Our customers) definitely don’t all meet the standard demographic of natural foods buyers,” he said, laughing.
While paying the one-membership fee is no requirement for shopping at Lost River Market and Deli, being a member is rewarding, according to Alstrom.
“We think we do about 60 percent of our business from members. It’s just amazing to watch people commit; a lot of them understand that if they sign up, it makes this happen,” Alstrom explained, adding that some are simply driven by the discounts membership offers.
All financial benefits aside, the store’s employees and organizers believe being a part-owner in a community-building project is one of the most important factors to many of Lost River’s shoppers.
“This (market) impacts a lot of people. There is a sense of community worth and the knowledge that (they’re) helping their own community by shopping here,” Alstrom said.
For more information on membership or selling to or Lost River Market and Deli, visit www.lostrivercoop.com or call 812-723-3735. For recipes designed from ingredients in the store, go to http://fromaliceskitchen.blogspot.com
This farm news was published in the April 16, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
| 4/16/2008 |
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