Growing Augusta: Arts, Agriculture & Agency, the local collective of creatives, growers and community leaders launched by Karen Gordon and Carla Walker in 2018, has been keeping the lines open to south Augusta residents for homegrown food.
The South Augusta Farmers Market at Golden Camp is Growing Augusta’s latest initiative to support local farmers.
“Our goal was to bring awareness to fresh produce in the south Augusta area, as well as to create community around food,” said C. Joy Brown, marketing manager for Grow Augusta.
Part of fulfilling that mission is offering health screenings, alongside vending by neighboring growers. This iteration of the South Augusta Farmers Market started in April, and opens every third Wednesday of the month.
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On Wednesday, Aug. 16, the Golden Camp market celebrated the arrival of mid-season by acknowledging National Honeybee Day (which is actually Aug. 20). Country Sweets, a vendor from Wrens, offered several flavors of its organic honey and had demonstrations of honey-inspired recipes.
“Honey was our big seller that day,” said Brown.
The monthly bazaar also hosted a live milking demonstration from the Georgia Mobile Dairy Classroom, a 30-foot, fully operational milking parlor with a live cow. The monthly bazaar also hosted a healthy food cooking demo, led by Lashawndra Robinson of regular vendor Black Farm Street, and gave out free vegan popsicles, made with local ingredients, from JUSTice Pops.
Adderson’s Fresh Produce from Keysville, Brown’s Place Farm from Grovetown and Starlit Roots from Burke County are among the many local producer vendors who set up shop with the South Augusta Farmers Market.
Brown notes that the South Augusta Farmers Market has proven an added resource to local farmers. Part of the reason Wednesdays were selected was to complement the schedules of other markets in the area and accommodate the limited window vendors have in which to sell their produce after a harvest.
“We have the south Augusta market on a Wednesday, but then Augusta Locally Grown has their market on Thursday,” said Brown, referring to the Veggie Park Farmers Market in Harrisburg. “So when our farmers don’t sell anything on Wednesday, then most likely they can use their produce again on Thursday.”
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Brown says the market aids in local economy by allowing the money to stay within the south Augusta area, and allow farmers to cut down on the costs of shipping and storage.
The South Augusta Farmers Market at Golden Camp will continue through October. Brown says that Growing Augusta is on the lookout for more potential locations amid impending renovations at the Henry Brigham Community Center; but also, many produce pop-ups are on the agenda throughout south Augusta in November.
The next South Augusta Farmers Market at Golden Camp will be on September 21, from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at 2463 Golden Camp Rd. For more information, visit www.growingaugusta.co.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
