The checkout area at Acorn Farmers' Market & Café is ready and more volunteers are sought for two prep events happening this coming week.

submitted by Kenny Frost, Acorn Farmers' Market & Café

Greetings Acorn Shoppers!
As I write this, I am sitting at our checkout desk in the new Manchester Market. This will be the first email sent on a new computer on a new internet connection that we have been troubleshooting all week. That's a lot of firsts!

We are getting ready to organize another volunteer rally to line the shelves, organize the office and checkout deck, arrange our many crates, and other "fun" activities. This is the first of two rallies planned this week. We are very grateful for our volunteers and for the many who have donated, supported, and shopped at our fledgling non-profit.

We have also been posting real-time updates on social media, editing the website, and using flyers and word-of-mouth in an attempt to give everyone a sense of what is happening with the new Market and what we can expect. This information is, of course, dependent on what news we receive from various sources at different times. It is a lot to jumble together, and it's a delicate art in the best of times. During a global pandemic, as we've learned, it can be infuriatingly frustrating.

The duties of our non-profit food market can be largely itemized as such:
1.) Turn our passion for sustainability, supporting local farms, healthier eating, community education, and subsidized plant growth into a cause.
2.) Use that passion and cause to write grants, petition, grow community support through volunteerism and donations, etc. to get as much start-up money as possible.
3.) Spend that money as carefully as possible by consulting other markets, partnering with good people that share our vision, repurposing and upcycling whenever possible, etc.
4.) Organize a grand opening that meets the needs and timeline of all partners and can be staffed appropriately.
5.) Adapt, learn, and solve on the fly any problems that arise until the dream turns into a tenable business model.

Referencing the list above, most of you probably recognize that Acorn (and thus the Manchester Market) are at step 4. This doesn't mean that challenges won't cease to arrive, and that we won't rise up to accept them; only that the larger and scarier challenges are (hopefully) mostly in the rearview mirror. Our HVAC unit was released from the Customs office in El Paso Texas and is currently on our roof. The checkout computers are up, running, and connected to the internet, and one of them is being used to write this article. The espresso equipment is piped, wired, and drilled in, and we are in the process of installing the drainage system.

Being at step 4 simply means that we are in the crucial and critical stage of making all of our efforts from the past 2+ years align with the efforts of our partners and community in a way that best serves Manchester, our surrounding communities, employees, and visitors.

Of course, there are a multitude of subtleties within these broad statements, and they are too many and too tedious to be itemized in a way that anyone would want to read. Suffice to say, as any business owner knows, both expected and unexpected challenges arise at every turn, and it takes the wisdom and experience of all hands on deck to adapt and find solutions. Acorn is fortunate to have an experienced and dedicated Board of Directors, supportive business partners, eager and talented volunteers, a small-but-seasoned rotating staff, and an exceedingly supportive community.

Without all of the above, it is very likely that Acorn would not have survived the problems that arose with the pandemic. The need to cease operations to focus on the new store and Outdoor Market only became more evident after the decision was made. We were only able to operate in our former location as long as we were because our gracious landlord allowed us to rent month-to-month while her store was on the market, which is quite rare.

All of this is still very challenging ... so we have moved our project meetings to a longer time slot attended by more team leaders. We are communicating and coordinating more than ever to be sure we are all moving towards the same goal.

When I was hired in November, my understanding was that we were opening in mid- to late-January. A week later I stepped into the Market for the first time, and saw a giant space with a poured concrete floor and a single, lonely candy dispenser. Over the weeks I began to realize the folly of projecting opening dates with any real optimism, a mistake that even now I won't repeat.

This week's Outdoor Farmers Market activity (Thursday, July 22 from 3 - 4:30 pm) will be a fundraiser for Acorn Farmers' Market & Café — a Wool Dryer Ball Workshop. Each ball will be $5, and all proceeds will go back to Acorn! Make one or make several! You may guarantee your spot by pre-registering at farmersmarket48158@gmail.com, or just show up. Also, songwriter, independent recording artist, spokesmodel, voice actress, and 2019 DBMA Jazz Singer of the Year, Stacey Murray SoulSongstress will perform LIVE at the Outdoor Market from 4:30-6:30PM! Don't miss this

We will announce a date when we have passed inspections, hired and trained staff, stocked the shelves with quality goods, and are ready to give every customer a pleasant experience. There will still be bumps in the road, and the learning curve will be steep for a while, but we'll get there. We will look forward to getting customer feedback, and will make every effort to evolve the store into the closest version we can get to pleasing everyone.

When we have that date, you will know. Soon, Manchester ...