Meet the Farmer

If you have visited the Wiregrass Farmers Market recently, you’ve noticed some young faces behind the table selling produce, breads, sweets, and more. The farmers market allows even the youngest entrepreneur a chance to hone their skills.

Two of the youngest vendors include Juliana, 15, and Haley, 12. What started as a garden for the family nearly 40 years ago, has become a small business for the granddaughters of Ronald Hooks.  Hooks has been selling his surplus produce at the Wiregrass Farmers Market since the beginning, noting that Juliana helped him every Saturday since she was just 6 years old. Each week you can find him and one of the girls selling local, seasonal vegetables that includes squash, zucchini, onions, turnips, mustard, broccoli, kale, tomatoes, potatoes, beets, okra, cabbage and corn. His favorite part about being a vendor is the opportunity to teach his granddaughters how to market produce and his favorite market purchase is goat cheese.  The girls rotate weekends and run their booth with a smile. They handle everything from setting up, talking to customers, sales and clean-up.

Be sure to stop by the farmers market this Saturday from 9am-Noon to see them, and all of our vendors, in action.