MANCHESTER, NH – Ask a farmer what is the most important part of the job and they will tell you the gift of time. It takes time to ready the soil, to plant the seeds, to nurture the burgeoning crops. It takes time – and a bit of cooperation from the powers that be – to provide the right mix of sun and rain for things to grow; time to wait for a small seed of possibility to come to harvest.
In that way, planting the seeds of change by way of a storefront market where locally-grown produce and other nutritious essentials can be bought and sold has been a similar labor of love requiring an abundance of patience and time.
On Saturday, the fruits of all the labor put in by local ORIS (Organization for Refugee and Immigrant Success) farmers and Neighborworks Southern NH staff and volunteers was realized with a “corn-husk” cutting outside Fresh Start Market on Spruce Street.
Sibomana Reverian of Concord said he’s been farming for three years. He came to New Hampshire from Rwanda 13 years ago, and on Saturday, he stood in a corner of the market just soaking in the moment, along with fellow Rwandan Jean d’Amour Nzarulinda, mobile market coordinator for ORIS.
The store means so much to so many.
“It’s our market and it links us with other buyers to see that our products get to people while still fresh,” said Nzarulinda. Many of the goods, especially the greens, are highly perishable once picked. Having the means to keep them refrigerated and a system in place to deliver them around Southern New Hampshire, from north of Concord down to Nashua, is a game-changer for the organization, which started 10 years ago to assist refugees and immigrants in the resettlement process, with a goal of self-sufficiency.
ORIS was founded by Mukhtar Idhow, a native of Somalia who has been a human bridge of knowledge and understanding for those resettling here. He appeared briefly during the grand opening of the market via video, explaining that he was representing his family at his brother’s college graduation, and couldn’t be there in person.
But he took a moment to thank all those who helped make the market a reality, including Mayor Joyce Craig who was there to shop as well as help cut the official “corn husk” (rather than a ribbon) outside the store, for the city’s support and for welcoming Fresh Start to the community.
Jameson Small, program manager for Fresh Start Farms, explained that as unexpected as it all was, the pandemic actually helped get their mobile operation in gear.
“It was a year ago today that we did our first round of deliveries and over the winter we shifted to online sales and home deliveries with the mobile food cart,” Small said. Meanwhile, the wheels were already in motion to open the Spruce Street bricks-and-mortar store. But as the pandemic shut down outdoor farm markets in 2020, the ability to deliver produce is what not only saved Fresh Start Farm from having a bust of a season last year, but introduced the community to its online services.
The building, which was vacant for years and had fallen into disrepair, was stuck in legal limbo, says Neighborworks Executive Director Robert Tourigny. The owner was in a nursing home and there was a lien on the property. Patience prevailed and the organization was able to buy it at auction from the city two years ago.
The way it was: Before photos of 150 Spruce Street. Photos via Neighborworks Southern NH
Because it is right across the street from Neighborworks’ Union Street outpost, the eyes and ears of the community had given them a window into what was going on inside the abandoned building. People were breaking in the back entrance through a piece of plywood and doing “bad things” inside, he says.
“Prostitution, drugs, gambling. There were mattresses on the floor and they even had a video camera out front so they could keep an eye out for the cops and get out through the back,” Tourigny said. “If you could have seen it two years ago, it’s like night and day.”
And while at that time Neighborworks had its eye on the building as a new home for QC Bike Collective, they hadn’t yet considered the possibility of a market. They only knew what they didn’t want the building to become.
“We don’t need another vape shop, or check-cashing place,” Tourigny said. After QC Bike Collective found a new home on Elm Street, that left Neighborworks with an opportunity waiting for a purpose.
Below: Slideshow of some of the items available at Fresh Start Market
It took time for all the pieces to come together, but yesterday’s official launch of the market – brimming with bundles of sturdy asparagus and amaranth, pints of blueberries and strawberries, and bunches of organic fair-trade bananas (which Small points out are cheaper than Market Basket’s regular bananas) – along with dry goods and imported items like meat, rice and flour, will help sustain and support the 23 ORIS farmers who labor in their fields located in Concord and Dunbarton.
Last year they collectively moved $300,000 in goods at dozens of markets, a bumper crop of success that even allowed some of the farmers to buy cars, Small said. The building is on lease for five years with the option to buy, but Tourigny doesn’t think it will take that long for ORIS to seal the deal.
Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart, a former community organizer for Neighborworks, was there Saturday to pick up some produce and check out the place. He said the project underscores the value of Neighborworks, which is most often associated with housing projects.
“Part of the mission includes revitalization and health of the community,” Stewart said. Although he has done his share of food mapping for the city, even he was surprised to learn that of the 39 retail stores within a city mile that accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) only four of them sell fresh foods.
“That speaks volumes to the need for a place like this, and it’s really a win-win-win for the farmers, the neighborhood and Fresh Start,” Stewart said.
Part of yesterday’s celebration of healthy communities included activities sponsored by Neighborworks – an exercise power hour at Manchester Police Athletic League, a series of family fun activities at L!FE Church at Hope Tabernacle on Cedar Street, free smoothies from Don Quijote Restaurant on Union Street, art and mindfulness at Art Therapy on Auburn Street and free tomato plant kits plus goody bags at the Neighborworks RENEW Community Room at 373 Union Street. Activities were scheduled between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
About Fresh Start Market
Fresh Start Market, located at 150 Spruce St., will be open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2-6 p.m. Deliveries can be scheduled to your home, workplace or other designated pick-up location between Concord and Nashua Wed. – Fri. by appointment. To schedule a delivery or learn more go to freshstartfarmsnh.com.
