Celebrating Our
5th Market Season!
Our Mission
To serve as a public venue in a food desert as an outlet that brings together black farmers, growers, agricultural entrepreneurs, artisans, and makers to sell their wares directly to the public, addressing hunger and food insecurity through food access and strengthening the local food system and economy.
22, 000
Pounds of Produce Distributed
75
Farmers Markets Hosted
Expanding community health by bringing fresh, locally grown food straight to neighborhoods
3,900
Neighbors & Residents
Connecting local families to nutritional security, food, education, and fresh produce
50
Growers & Small Businesses
Strengthening our regional economy by investing in independent agricultural entrepreneurs
Our Why
The Food Gap In Shelby County
In 2019, the Feeding America Map the Meal Gap study showed that 140,940 residents of Shelby County, including Memphis, were food insecure in the year. That means close to 15 percent of our neighbors faced lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life, and had limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.
Honoring Culinary Heritage
Traditional Southern food, often called Soul Food, is sometimes unfairly labeled as inherently unhealthy. In reality, traditional agricultural practices relied on fresh, whole ingredients straight from the earth. Modern, broken food systems are what truly drive chronic illness. We are reclaiming our culinary traditions to fight hypertension and diabetes by bringing fresh, nutrient-dense food back to our community.
Agricultural Continuity
Currently, 95% of America’s farmers are white. The number of black farmers in America peaked in 1920 at nearly 950,000. Today, of the country’s 3.4 million total farmers, only 1.3%, (about 45,508) are Black, according to figures from the US Department of Agriculture. They own a mere 0.52% of America’s farmland.
Black farmers who have managed to hold on to their land face steep economic hurdles, earning significantly less on average than white farmers, with smaller average acreage. We are here to change that narrative by providing a direct marketplace for these independent agricultural businesses to thrive.
Our Way of Showing Up
Access & Joy
We center culturally relevant food access in an area who needs it most, on the grounds of a local church in the historic “Souf Memphis.” We celebrate independent growers and farmers, highlighting their deep roots and working together to cultivate spaces of health, love, joy, and collective success.
Community Learning
Through our interactive market moments, we bring together education, arts, and literacy. We feature vibrant cooking demonstrations from local chefs, live performances by regional artists, children’s story read-alouds by local writers, and civic engagement on issues that impact directly impact our neighboods.
Local Investments
We celebrate and welcome local food entrepreneurs, artisans, craftsmen, and makers. We intentionally circulate economic resources within our neighborhood to build a self-reliant, sustainable local food system and a stronger regional economy.