New Lebanon’s Farmers Market Goes Indoors And Invigorates A Town
If you Google “Lebanon Valley, NY farms,” you will find a robust list of farms in and around the area. And yet, New Lebanon has long been considered a food desert; the last grocery store in town, Fisher’s Market, closed decades ago, leaving residents only convenience stores and gas stations to pick necessities, or the need to drive at least a half hour for a grocery store and healthy, nutritious food options. Until now.
This is a good news story, one that was born from the challenges of COVID-19; of action and stars aligning, of a capable and forward-thinking Brooklyn transplant and his family, and of a community eager to support a new venture. And, it should be noted, a story that was urged onto Rural Intelligence by several unconnected people within a matter of a week. You need to write about this, they urged.
First Step: Stepping Up
It begins (and continues) with Josh Young, the 30-ish media software engineer (Huffington Post, Quartz, startups), who at the start of the pandemic refused to pay outrageous NYC rents for none of the benefits. His lease was ending, and he had family in New Lebanon. His aunt, an historical preservationist, had restored a circa 1850s building — as chance would have it, the former Fisher’s Market location — right in the center of downtown New Lebanon. He moved into the apartment upstairs, which he shares with his cousin.
Young continued to consult for some city clients, but he heard, in May of 2020, that the managers of the New Lebanon Farmers Market had announced they wouldn’t be able to continue in their roles. “I knew I wanted to help in some way,” Young says. “I raised my hand, thought maybe I could do this.”
You’ll recall that in that moment, farmers markets took up the slack when most everything was closed. They began offering curbside pickup services; Young launched a virtual farmers market. He put up a website where people could make an order and Young would forward the orders to the farmers. Curbside pickup was available on Thursdays, complementing the Sunday outdoor market. When the outdoors version ran its course at the end of October, the virtual market moved to Sundays. It grew from there.
Young thought the concept might have some staying power. “Let’s take what we’ve learned,” he says of this vision at the time, “and try to build an institution that can replicate some of the benefits of the traditional grocery store, while hanging onto all we love about a traditional farmers market.” The New Lebanon (Indoor) Farmers Market launched last August in that historic but now restored former grocery store building. It shares space with Laura Austin Interior Design and K&Co, a secondhand goods and consignment shop —a better financial deal for all three ventures, of course, but also a destination that builds business for each one.
According to my informants, to say that the New Lebanon Market has been a success would be an understatement, although Young is more modest about the efforts. “I’ve treated this market like I’ve treated startup companies, trying to get a little better every week. We’re always hustling to bring on more farmers and producers.”
Partnering with his sister Eleanor, a butcher in town (she buys pigs from local farmers and sells the cuts and her own sausage at the market), Young endeavors to keep things local, whether it’s meat and fish, dairy or bread. “The best way to help farmers and food producers is to sell local products and products that save a trip to the grocery store,” he says. That, he realized, are some things you just have to stock, whether local or not. Bananas, for one. And some pantry items. It’s called customer service, and the Youngs excel in that.
Second Step: Catering To Community
Example number one: The weekly newsletter. "Josh sends out a very creative email with the week’s fresh items,” says Dennis Burek, a Stephentown resident. “His writing skills are magical.” Both the emails and the website feature illustrations that are sophisticated and evocative, created by artist Stacey Leonard. The whole package — message, graphics and tone — are that overused but applicable adjective: charming.
Example number two: Customer focus. After a snowstorm, Young opened the store on Sunday (regular days are Wednesday through Saturday) so people could get in when they couldn’t make it earlier in the week. Online ordering is easy (Young even gathered a troop of volunteers at the New Lebanon public library to teach older members of the community how to order food from the market's website); preordering and pickup continue to be popular, delivery is available, and the market offers Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Even better, funds from the Berkshire Agricultural Ventures have made it possible for the market to double those benefits up to $30.
Example number three: Transparency. Young announces the market’s three key metrics (gross revenue, total items purchased, and total purchases) each week. Why? He explains that in one of his friendly missives. “The answer starts with gross revenue. It's a great metric for our project. The more hard-earned money people spend at our market, the more we can be confident people really benefit from what we're doing.” A typical week might bring in $7,000-$8,000 gross sales from 200-225 people.
Some 15 volunteers run the New Lebanon Farmers (that includes Josh and Eleanor, by the way), but the market is now able to fund the position of operations manager, thanks to a three-year, $500,000 grant awarded by the US Department of Agriculture. It’ll cover one full-time position and several part timers. It was the first grant application Young had ever written. (See magical writing skills, above.)
Young’s bio on the website says he enjoys organizing shared resources and democracy, and with the help of New Lebanon officials and Columbia County farming organizations, he’s making that happen. But perhaps we should let some of his fans have the final words.
“For Josh, the market is about more than selling delicious, high-quality local produce and other food items. It is about creating a community of volunteers and happy customers,” says Etta Jacobs. “My husband and I live on the New York State side of Lebanon Mountain. Now, I can make a quick trip to the New Lebanon Market in under 30 minutes round trip, as opposed to over an hour to drive into Pittsfield. I love having access to local fresh seasonal produce in the winter.”
That produce isn’t just nourishment for the body — it’s energy leading to a better quality of life dynamic in the New Lebanon, Stephentown, and surrounding areas. “During the months of isolation of the pandemic, the store served as an oasis for food supplies,” Dennis Burek says. “I am confident that the market’s presence will also produce a multiplier effect of other businesses deciding to open in this community.”
As promised, good news.
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