Sodexo hosts Farmer’s Market
Nearly 30 vendors gather at Doc’s to showcase vendors’ local products
Festivities — Students took advantage of produce and treats offered in Doc’s parking lot during Liberty’s first Farmer’s Market. Photo credit: Leah Seavers
On the afternoon of Sept. 18, vendors set up their stations outside Doc’s for the first campus Farmer’s Market. The event began at 3:30 p.m. as the parking lot filled with merchants selling a variety of goods from local gardens and shops.
Sodexo, Liberty University’s dining provider, organized the event. Kaitlyn Johnson, an employee for Sodexo, explained that Sodexo’s district manager Anthony Delligatti came up with the idea for the Farmer’s Market.
“Back a few months ago, he had talked about an event that will bring the community together more,” Johnson said. “He is all about buying local, creating local commerce and putting a lot of money back into the community that already pours so much into Sodexo.”
Johnson said Delligatti went out into the community and found many of the vendors personally.
“Some of them he knows and buys from himself,” Johnson said. “He also went down to the community market and looked for vendors there. The community market was one of his biggest resources.”
According to Johnson, there were nearly 30 participants present for the first campus Farmer’s Market, and more are expected to join in the coming weeks. One vendor expected to be present at the Farmer’s Market soon is Bold Branch Beef, a family-owned, grass-fed cattle business from the Piedmont region.
The addition of Bold Branch Beef will contribute to the diverse selection of Liberty’s Farmer’s Market. Booths from the first week included vendors selling fresh produce, local honey, kettle corn, barbeque, baked goods, home décor and accessories.
One of the specific merchants that Delligatti recruited for the market was Hill City Coffee, a family business that operates locally. Co-owner Julia Waddell attended the event and sold to students at the market.
“We roast out of our home in Lynchburg, Virginia, hence the name Hill City Coffee,” Waddell said. “We really wanted to bring Hill City Coffee to the students and faculty at Liberty.”
Supporting local businesses and providing fresh, local goods to students was, according to Sodexo, the motive behind starting the Farmer’s Market.
Hill City Coffee participated in the Farmer’s Market along with nearly 30 other vendors and has intentions of continuing to sell goods to Liberty University students and faculty for the foreseeable future.
The Farmer’s Market will continue to run from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Thursday until Nov.13. Students are highly encouraged by Sodexo to participate in the Farmer’s Market.
FOLEY is a news reporter