Cheyenne Nicholas, a founding member of the Northside Farmers Market (Photo by Amanda Miles Photography)
“Even when I knew I wanted to work on farms, I knew I didn’t want to just be growing food for people who can afford the highest quality food already; that was not ever a goal or interest of mine, so being able to find a food access-orientated space was good for me,” says Cheyenne Nicholas, a founder and fellow of Northside Farmers Market, one of the city’s newest. “There are so many other systemic things going on that are preventing people from accessing the basics.”
Located in an area that has been deemed a food desert for decades, the farmers market aims to highlight Black farmers and provide access to fresh produce for nearby residents. Operating now until the week before Thanksgiving, Northside Farmers Market takes place on Thursdays from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 201 E. Brookland Park Blvd. behind Richmond Community High School.
The market is a project of Northside Food Access Coalition — an organization composed of community members, most of whom live in North Side, who work to combat food insecurity — and Nicholas, who uses they/them pronouns, says that while they were originally hoping to launch a grocery store, the farmers market was the next best option.
“56% of North Side residents have low access to food,” Nicholas says. “Through community conversations … we thought, 'What if we had a farmers market?' ”
The 24-year-old North Side resident previously apprenticed at Shalom Farms, where they discovered that although putting their hands in the dirt brought them enjoyment, where that produce would end up was their main concern.
“It’s one thing to grow the vegetables, but another to see where the need is and build those relationships in the community,” Nicholas says. “What we’re working on doing is both creating this access point that is centrally located, and economically empower Black farmers in the area.”
Northside Farmers Market operates in a nontraditional manner. Rather than farmers selling at a stand, the produce is either sourced from the farmers and picked up by the coalition or dropped off at a designated cold storage unit by the farmers themselves. Nicholas says the goal is to alleviate some of the barriers for small growers to participate by eliminating the need for a vendor fee and to physically sell on-site. The move also grants farmers the opportunity to sell at other markets or focus on the farm.
“Farmers will drop off, and we’ll pack it up and do the promotion, so they’re getting the price they need for their vegetables, and people can have this access point,” Nicholas explains.
Currently, Northside Farmers Market is working with Church Hill's Legacy Farm; Sankofa Orchard, led by food justice advocate Duron Chavis; La Botanica in North Side; and Justin Upshaw of Essential RVA Microgreens, as well as sourcing some produce from Shalom Farms’ Northside Farm and Pharaoh Farm, Community High's garden. The market also offers a Virginia Fresh Match for those who use SNAP EBT or P-EBT benefits and offers a 50% discount for purchases using SNAP/EBT.
Nicholas adds that while North Side lacks a full-fledged grocery store where people can shop for fresh produce, for many, especially older members of the population, getting to the store if there were one would present another challenge.
“One of the things we’re looking into and trying to figure out is a way to have someone pick up from the market and deliver to neighbors, or have someone in the coalition do deliveries,” Nicholas says.
With the market still in its early days, the group wants to create a space that feels welcoming and inviting. Nicholas says that as a coalition they are working to assist neighbors and forming a place of trust, community and growth.
“I’ve always thought of Richmond as a fairly segregated city historically, and even as time has gone on, and I think sometimes that plays out in ways you aren’t even expecting them to play out, and especially with Black farmers being discriminated against for so long,” Nicholas says. “Black people have been farming forever in the Americas, and we haven’t been seeing the investment in Black communities. As more markets like this pop up and continue to be more accessible ... monetarily, fiscally and emotionally, we got to claim our spaces. If we can show up to places and say, ‘Yeah, this is for me,’ while it’s hard at first, as more of us do it, more people can be involved."
Northside Farmers Market also hopes to incorporate wellness into the space by hosting blood pressure checks and health awareness days. CSA shares are available for $25 per 10- to 15-pound assortment of produce.
