“’Where there is a will, there is a way,’ these words kept running through my mind as we were planting our market garden during a pandemic and our normal source of selling our produce at the farmers market shutdown,” says MacKenzie Thompson-Boizvert of The Little Homestead that Could.
“There have been countless businesses affected, in one way or another, by COVID-19. Strict guidelines, quarantines, shutdowns, and social distancing have now trickled down through the volatile American food supply chain to the very people working the land and providing the nutrition to sustain our existence.”
The Little Farmstead That Could is a small 15-acre family run operation growing primarily a variety of organically grown seasonal produce. They raise Nubian dairy goats that provide high quality milk that they use in the production of soaps and lotions and keep beehives that yield the most delicious honey that their wide range of pollinator forage provides.
My husband Dave and I went out to visit with MacKenzie and Joe of The Little Farmstead That Could. It was a lovely drive and well worth it.
During our visit to their stand in Villanow, Dave and I picked up the healthiest-looking banana pepper plant that already had little peppers growing on it. We also got a gorgeous, delicious bunch of Swiss chard, a bar of divine-smelling, luxurious goatsmilk soap, and other assorted plants and produce. You won’t find better looking produce and plants than what we saw at The Little Farmstead That Could‘s roadside stand.
MacKenzie continues: “We also offer fresh eggs from our flock of pasture raised chickens. We fall into a mere 8% of American farms that sell directly to consumers at Farmer’s Markets with our local market being the Battlefield Farmer’s Market near Rockspring, Georgia. Unfortunately, the Federal and State guidelines safe-guarding consumer’s from contracting the potentially COVID-19 shut down our market.
“Our consumers lost the ability to obtain fresh seasonal organically grown produce, and we were on the verge of losing a source of significant income for our family which gained a new addition in January of this year. Our daughter is only 4 months old and may never recall the day that her mother and father decided to change course amidst this pandemic. Instead of throwing in the towel as so many farmers have been forced to do, we found an alternative way to sell our produce.
“Our local convenience store clerks were extremely gracious in allowing us a chance to sell our produce in an open corner of the parking lot of the store in Villanow, GA. We found that our amazing small community was also seeking an alternative to long lines at the grocery store for sub-standard produce, if any could be found at all. We also began offering delivery locally and allowing our community to pick up our products from the farm.
“This horrible virus has changed all our lives in one way or another, but we want that change to include a more personal relationship with your local farmers, wherever they may be. We are open for business at Mapco in Villanow, Georgia from 9:30am till Noon every Saturday.
MacKenzie and her husband Joe also have a weekly or bi-weekly CSA program farm-share available and offer delivery of produce baskets in the surrounding communities of Calhoun, LaFayette, and Dalton Georgia. Contact them on Facebook at The Little Farmstead That Could for any questions or if you plan to stop by to pick up items.
“Thanks for supporting local, it means more to us than you know,” MacKenzie concludes. And we agree! Please support your local businesses and especially local farmers, producers and ranchers!
