Indoor farmer's market set to bloom in county

COCOLALLA — A new model of farmer’s market has opened its doors to the public near Cocolalla Lake along Highway 95 south of Sandpoint.

Thomas and Darla Fletcher bought the facility a year ago and have successfully brought their vision into being. The indoors market is official registered with the state as such, selling locally grown meats and vegetables, fruits and other farm-produced products on consignment.

Two of the vendors contributing to the diverse range of organic produce, dairy and meat products said they are excited by the possibilities that the venue provides.

Jeromy Scheel and his wife, Stacey, who own the Careywood Coffee Company, provide a variety of organic coffee beans and flavors their Ambex coffee roaster — selling their wares through the farmer’s market system as well as to a number of outlets and restaurants in the Idaho Panhandle. Having the added venue of a consignment marketplace so close to where they live is a great advantage for them, because they don’t have to be on site in order to sell product, the pair said.

Scheel served as president of the Athol Farmer’s Market where he participated as a vendor for a number of years and the couple supports the local community of producers and the rural lifestyles that play into farm-to-market enterprise.

“I don’t feel that Only Local is competing in any harmful way with other area farmer’s markets,” Scheel said. Instead, he added the enthusiasm generated by connecting with a growing number of like-minded entrepreneurs is beneficial. “It gives all of us an additional place to sell our products and it’s out of the weather.” That fact, he said, allows organic farmers an extension on the selling side of organic farming.

Only Local isn’t a cooperative in that vendors do not have to tend the shop, said Fletcher. Instead, they can bring in and display what they are selling and then leave and go about their busy lives.

Fletcher’s consignment enterprise has a lot of freezer space along with storage areas in the basement as well as coolers upstairs for produce that requires cooling. “They own their products,” he said about the vendors whose numbers are growing.

Vendors can store frozen meats in the market’s large walk-in freezer as well as display products on the main floor. The Fletchers sought license compliance through Kathryn Kolberg, director of the Panhandle Health District office in Sandpoint.

“She has been an immense help to us in setting up properly so that all code and state requirements for us to operate as an indoor farmer’s market have been met,” he said. “We are certified to operate this way and that makes vendor participation safe and secure.”

Scheel is particularly pleased that he and his wife and others can sell their products right through inclement weather conditions. The main problem with open-air farmer’s markets is that when the weather is really nice, a great number of potential buyers are out recreating at the lake or doing their outdoor thing. In bad weather, many stay home, he said, because they can’t imagine the farmers would go to the trouble of setting up under adverse conditions.

“As a growing coffee roaster business,” Scheel explained. “I can get very busy trying to keep up with supply and demand. So having the ability to put stock on consignment, as opposed to selling it wholesale, contributes powerfully to my enterprise.”

Vern and Amy Spencer of Vern’s Veges and More, said there are many benefits to them that Only Local provides.

Spencer, who said he grows a wide variety of “very tasty, very healthy” organic vegetables, added his great discovery in organic farming is the importance of adequate mineral content in the soil. Just adding compost to the soil doesn’t always provide what a farmer needs, he explained.

“If it’s not in the compost, it won’t be in the soil. We are what we eat, right? Plants are the same way, so are animals,” he said. Spencer sells some of his produce to area chefs and restaurant owners. One in particular praised the taste and quality of his kale and wanted to know what variety he was raising.

“It’s not the variety; it is the mineral content of the soil I grow all my vegetables in,” he said. Earlier on, Spencer sent soil samples to Neal Kinsey’s lab in Missouri because their reputation is impeccable among organic farmers. “I added exactly what he told me was missing and the result has been dynamic.” That means, said Spencer, that his vegetables are exceptionally tasty as a result and hearty as well. “Bugs aren’t bothering my plants like they used to, and that’s very important to organic farming. We don’t use pesticides. These plants are now capable of fighting their own battles.”

His biggest problem is that deer love his produce, he said. He’s had to resort to extensive fencing to keep them out as much as possible. “I lost over $1,000 of value in a lettuce field a couple of years ago due to deer. That’s demoralizing to a farmer. But we learn and we address whatever we can to handle the situation and keep the (what he calls) four-legged potato beetles out of the crops if we can.”

Fletcher explained why he thinks producers like Spencer and Scheel are seeking him out, saying, “First of all, we’re doing this to help the local agricultural community sustain their businesses in a vital way. Putting them in under a roof is one thing, but we also serve them by not requiring their presence. They can store even meats here. They own what they bring it. We have the agreed upon right to sell whatever they bring in, because we’re not buying it from them wholesale. It’s a true consignment arrangement. They can come and pick up their products in any quantity at any time, and sell them elsewhere if they like. We don’t object to that. We’re happy to have them here. We want them to succeed.”

Feature correspondent, Dwayne Parsons can be reached for comment or story suggestions by emailing him at dwaynedailybee@gmail.com.