Through the collaboration of Grow Appalachia, High Rocks and Gesundheit! Institute, Hillsboro has a one-stop shop for locally grown produce – a mobile farm stand.
Gesundheit! architect and general contractor Tyler Kobick said the organizations met with local growers to discuss the design and use of the stand.
“This stand is a result of a month-long process,” he said. “We had a community charrette here at the Pretty Penny. We had two university groups here – the New York University and University of Baltimore – and then we had fifteen or twenty community members. We talked about designs and ways to implement things in town.”
Once the vision was complete, Kobick and students visiting or working at Gesundheit! built the stand which was unveiled Saturday.
The stand is currently located on Dick Burns’ property beside the parking lot at the Pretty Penny Café. The shelter has room for three people to stand behind four bins of produce. Each bin or compartment has a hidden drawer where customers may place their payments. It has a chalkboard to list the items available, as well as a butcher block where the stand worker can cut and serve samples of items.
“We wanted four payment stations for four different farmers to possibly have vegetables in there,” Kobick said. “We wanted lots of signage and portability.”
The stand is on wheels for easy portability and will be locked each evening for safety reasons.
As long as there is produce available, the stand will be open.
“It’s on the honor system right now,” Kobick said. “Maybe on Saturdays there will be a person here, but the idea is it’s honor system. Each farmer plugs in and there’s individual payment stations. People can come in and pay for things during the week.”
If the stand is popular, Kobick said they are prepared to build a second one for the same location or for another site, if requested.
Grow Appalachia has 24 farmers currently interested in participating in the farm stand.
Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com
