This year, our garden program and team accomplished one of our big garden program goals, which was to establish more market access for our growers in our local community, even if that meant starting up a market of our own. And turns out, that is exactly what that meant and we set our minds to doing it. We dreamed up and put into action what is now the Local Exchange Market, a once per month summer market series that brings together growers, artisans, and small business owners defined by our definition of local, within a 50-mile radius of Milton, WV, where we host our Organic Gardening Program meets each month.

It was important for us that the market didn’t compete with any other smaller local Saturday markets near to us in the area, so that all of us producers and gardeners could come together to sell and celebrate the work that is being done in our community. We wanted this market to not compete with other markets because we wanted to put all of us, in the market world, “in the same room” at the same time, to really show how many of us want to grow food and make things for our communities. We have such a diverse and talented group of gardeners, farmers, artisans, and makers in our group, and when we all came together for the Local Exchange Market for the first time, it was a vision turned dream come true.

Our event takes place the last Thursday of the month, May through October from 6pm-9pm, which is kind of different for a farmer’s market that normally takes place every Saturday from early morning until late afternoon. For many growers and farmers, Saturdays spent at the market means time away from the food being produced, as many of our vendors work full-time jobs outside of their small businesses. Then there becomes the problem of when do producers find a day to rest or Sabbath. We wanted our market to invite in smaller producers that maybe couldn’t supply to a Saturday market every week, but could stock up and bring a bundle to a bigger market clientele once per month. And ultimately, we wanted it to be a celebration and a PARTY! And that is exactly what it is.

We have food trucks, a small local coffee shop, and even local musicians and artists that make up the vendors of the market, hosted in the parking lots and street at New Heights Church in Milton. Our vendors and growers are of varying ages, and we hope to see even more families from our Organic Gardening Program sponsored by Grow Appalachia to begin selling at the market for the 2026 season, now that this market has grown out of our program community.

In our program, we provide organic gardening education to help families to produce their own food, but we also encourage and provide those same families with education, incentives, and extra resources to begin developing their gardening patches and skills into businesses for themselves in the local community. A large portion of our families have a surplus of fresh, organically grown food each growing season and they love to give it away to friends, family, and those in need in the community. But we also would love to see all that sharing and even some selling too, to really grow the small producer community in our area.

The market was also able to hire some youth workers to aid the vendors at the market with setting up and tearing down their setups, which was a huge help and much-appreciated service from our growing and maker community. Markets are a lot of work and a lot of labor, and to have so many young, helping hands available was a blessing. These youth workers were also able to engage with our local producer community and see what it looked like to run small businesses within the agricultural and artisan world, inspiring many of them to begin brainstorming their own products and place to sell in our market in years to come.

Overall, this new market, an extension of our Organic Gardening Program and team, all sponsored by the Grow Appalachia gardening grant, has been eagerly welcomed, attended, and supported by our local community. We hope to continue to see the market and our gardening and farmer community continue to grow over the next few years, and with the help of the Grow Appalachia gardening grant, we so no end in sight for the continuation of this growth that is combating food insecurity, promoting small family business, and creating community focused on resilience and unity.

By: Shayla Lucas