DALEVILLE, Ind.– Roadside farm stands have become a way for urban farms to sell their goods. One stand in Daleville started out selling eggs, but now they are doing more for their community.
“We started just selling eggs and chicken and then had a real love of chicken and ended up with more eggs than we could get rid of so we decided to sell them out front,” Co-owner of The Willow Creek Collective, Lisa Nixon Said.
Recently, the stand has taken on a new purpose. While still offering eggs and other farm goods, the stand has started “Neighbors Nourishing Neighbors,” which is offering bags filled with ingredients and a recipe to make a meal free of charge.
Lisa said that she had seen the idea online over the summer when the Sun Bucks program, which provides free and reduced lunches for students, had budget cuts. With the news of SNAP benefits being cut, she revisited the idea.
“When Sun Bucks got cut, we thought we could put a lunch out, but we’re on a highway, so would kids be able to come,” Lisa said. “Then when SNAP got cut, we were like, well, we got the nudge once, we'd better go for it this time.”
Chris Nixon, co-owner of The Willow Creek Collective, said that he hopes that more people see the farm stand and start making their own bags. He said that he and his wife do not mind doing it, but the more people who are willing to help will be better for the community.
“The more we know each other, the more we know the needs of each other,” Chris said. “The more we can be specific and not so general, because sometimes you just need something very specific.”
“It’s vital to the community, it’s what community is,” Lisa said. “I mean, we’ve needed things at times, and I think that it’s vital.”
Both Lisa and Chris hope that the farm stand can become a hub for community members helping their neighbors.
“I hope that it goes past this. Food is one thing, but really knowing your neighbor,” Lisa said. “They might have something to offer you, and you might have something to offer them.”
“Even though it is one of the things where there is a lot of stigma in needing help, people are still using it,” Chris said.
The farm stand has given away 26 bags this week, and the Nixons plan to change the recipe every week. The stand is located at 14208 W Main St. in Daleville.
Contact Josh Gabbard with comments at Joshua.Gabbard@bsu.edu.
