Brenham Banner Press
Sharing Nature's Bounty: Organic farm planning to open downtown market
March 17, 2013 By Arthur Hahn
With the Brenham Farmers Market taking a summer hiatus from its usual Saturday offerings downtown, shoppers wanting fresh organically raised produce will still be able to find it beginning next month.
Home Sweet Farm, a Washington County enterprise that produces a wide variety of vegetables and herbs — all grown organically, without any pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides — is planning to open a market in downtown Brenham.
The timing of the new market is purely coincidental but will fill a gap left by the decision not to open the Farmers Market.
That decision was made because the state’s Cottage Food Law, passed several years ago, doesn’t allow items cooked at private homes to be sold at venues like a farmers market. Brenham’s Farmers Market had more baked and canned goods than vegetables.
Brad Stufflebeam of Home Sweet Farm said when he was making plans to open a shop, the idea was to not be in competition with the local farmers market.
“We were going to compliment what they were doing,” Stufflebeam said. “We weren’t even going to be open Saturday mornings.”
Stufflebeam said he doesn’t even consider the new Home Sweet Farm Market to be “an actual farmers market,” instead calling it a “retail farm.”
Home Sweet Farm prides itself on being a successful “community supported agriculture (CSA)” farm. It was launched in 2004 and was the first CSA operation serving the Greater Houston area.
The new market, said Stufflebeam, is a natural progression of what he calls a commitment to “feed our local community.”
“Our purpose with the store is to give us an avenue to sell our produce directly to the customers. We really wanted to bring it home,” he said. “It’s taken us this long to cultivate our growers where we have enough supply to open the store.”
Home Sweet Farm is working with other area producers in filling it s new market, which Stufflebeam said hopes to be open the first week in April.
Operating hours will be Wednesday and Sunday afternoons.
Those days were chosen carefully, said Stufflebeam.
“What we’ve done in the past is have monthly market days here at our farm. Sunday afternoon works well; producers can participate out here,” he said. “And people seem to be willing to drive out here from Austin and Houston because hey want to get out of the city.
“If it’s a Saturday market, people really aren’t into buying their produce when they’re staying in a hotel that night. If they’re on their way back home, they’re more likely to buy.
“But our priority market is not going to be the tourists. Our real priority is to feed our local community. That’s why we’re going to be open Wednesday afternoons and Sunday afternoons.”
Stufflebeam said Home Sweet Farm Market will provide a venue for any producer.
“We’ll buy it outright from them and give them the most premium price on the market,” he said. “This is an opportunity for people on a limited income to get a little bit of extra cash.”
An idea is also coming together on how canned and baked goods can also be sold there.
The Cottage Food Law allows goods produced at a commercial kitchen to be sold at a farmers market. And Stufflebeam already has one in mind: Faith Mission’s Cannery Kitchen.
Named in honor of its history as a county-operated facility where residents were taught to “can” foods, Cannery Kitchen is now used by Faith Mission for job training and as a fundraising operation where meals are served, particularly at meetings of area civic organizations which are held there.
“The missing link in order for anyone to bake bread or make jams and jellies is that it has to be done at a commercial kitchen,” said Stufflebeam. “That’s the thing that’s really hurting everyone.
“We know that we’re going to have produce left over at the end of the day, and I’ve already talked to Faith Mission about donating our food for them to can in their commercial kitchen. They could prepare it there and we could buy it back from them and sell it at the farmers market.
“We could literally have a Brenham Cannery again. I’d pay someone to can stuff for me if they could do it in their kitchen. To me, it’s part of closing this ag loop.
“If we can’t sell it fresh, then we can put it in a form that’s less perishable. We can all get together and create a whole brand behind it.
“I think there’s a solution here.”
Stufflebeam said he is confident his version of a farmers market will be successful.
“We feel like our community’s ready for it. I think people really understand,” he said. “It’s real food, real fresh food and it’s being produced in this rural landscape.
“I want to encourage people to start growing food again. And if we work together and compliment each other and we all work on marketing and sales, we really end up with a supportive community.”
The farmers market will be located at 306 S. Baylor St., near the heart of the downtown area.
Stufflebeam said it won’t only include food items, but “anything that’s an ag product,” from candles to honey to furniture made of native woods.
March 17, 2013 By Arthur Hahn
With the Brenham Farmers Market taking a summer hiatus from its usual Saturday offerings downtown, shoppers wanting fresh organically raised produce will still be able to find it beginning next month.
Home Sweet Farm, a Washington County enterprise that produces a wide variety of vegetables and herbs — all grown organically, without any pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides — is planning to open a market in downtown Brenham.
The timing of the new market is purely coincidental but will fill a gap left by the decision not to open the Farmers Market.
That decision was made because the state’s Cottage Food Law, passed several years ago, doesn’t allow items cooked at private homes to be sold at venues like a farmers market. Brenham’s Farmers Market had more baked and canned goods than vegetables.
Brad Stufflebeam of Home Sweet Farm said when he was making plans to open a shop, the idea was to not be in competition with the local farmers market.
“We were going to compliment what they were doing,” Stufflebeam said. “We weren’t even going to be open Saturday mornings.”
Stufflebeam said he doesn’t even consider the new Home Sweet Farm Market to be “an actual farmers market,” instead calling it a “retail farm.”
Home Sweet Farm prides itself on being a successful “community supported agriculture (CSA)” farm. It was launched in 2004 and was the first CSA operation serving the Greater Houston area.
The new market, said Stufflebeam, is a natural progression of what he calls a commitment to “feed our local community.”
“Our purpose with the store is to give us an avenue to sell our produce directly to the customers. We really wanted to bring it home,” he said. “It’s taken us this long to cultivate our growers where we have enough supply to open the store.”
Home Sweet Farm is working with other area producers in filling it s new market, which Stufflebeam said hopes to be open the first week in April.
Operating hours will be Wednesday and Sunday afternoons.
Those days were chosen carefully, said Stufflebeam.
“What we’ve done in the past is have monthly market days here at our farm. Sunday afternoon works well; producers can participate out here,” he said. “And people seem to be willing to drive out here from Austin and Houston because hey want to get out of the city.
“If it’s a Saturday market, people really aren’t into buying their produce when they’re staying in a hotel that night. If they’re on their way back home, they’re more likely to buy.
“But our priority market is not going to be the tourists. Our real priority is to feed our local community. That’s why we’re going to be open Wednesday afternoons and Sunday afternoons.”
Stufflebeam said Home Sweet Farm Market will provide a venue for any producer.
“We’ll buy it outright from them and give them the most premium price on the market,” he said. “This is an opportunity for people on a limited income to get a little bit of extra cash.”
An idea is also coming together on how canned and baked goods can also be sold there.
The Cottage Food Law allows goods produced at a commercial kitchen to be sold at a farmers market. And Stufflebeam already has one in mind: Faith Mission’s Cannery Kitchen.
Named in honor of its history as a county-operated facility where residents were taught to “can” foods, Cannery Kitchen is now used by Faith Mission for job training and as a fundraising operation where meals are served, particularly at meetings of area civic organizations which are held there.
“The missing link in order for anyone to bake bread or make jams and jellies is that it has to be done at a commercial kitchen,” said Stufflebeam. “That’s the thing that’s really hurting everyone.
“We know that we’re going to have produce left over at the end of the day, and I’ve already talked to Faith Mission about donating our food for them to can in their commercial kitchen. They could prepare it there and we could buy it back from them and sell it at the farmers market.
“We could literally have a Brenham Cannery again. I’d pay someone to can stuff for me if they could do it in their kitchen. To me, it’s part of closing this ag loop.
“If we can’t sell it fresh, then we can put it in a form that’s less perishable. We can all get together and create a whole brand behind it.
“I think there’s a solution here.”
Stufflebeam said he is confident his version of a farmers market will be successful.
“We feel like our community’s ready for it. I think people really understand,” he said. “It’s real food, real fresh food and it’s being produced in this rural landscape.
“I want to encourage people to start growing food again. And if we work together and compliment each other and we all work on marketing and sales, we really end up with a supportive community.”
The farmers market will be located at 306 S. Baylor St., near the heart of the downtown area.
Stufflebeam said it won’t only include food items, but “anything that’s an ag product,” from candles to honey to furniture made of native woods.