Event Ended! FarmHer & Freedom Farm

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Raven and Real Life podcast. And today I'm sitting right here in Farmher on Broadway in Columbus, Georgia, with Mandy Warner, the owner. So, first off, will you tell us a little bit about yourself and this place right here?

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Okay, so I I am um I am the owner here at Farmher Mercantile. We are a shop that houses 47 local bakers, makers, and curators. So everything here is hand-picked or handmade by somebody locally. We have everything you can think of from apothecary goods to baked goods to even a candle bar where you can build your own candles.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

Lots of fun stuff.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Actually, I will do this. I'll hold it this way and go like that. There you go. So what made you move here and um you know just what got you into this this type of business?

SPEAKER_01 0:54

So I owned a construction company, and one day I was on a ladder and I said, What are you gonna do, Mandy? Climb ladders till you're 60 like your dad did? That doesn't make sense. So I decided I was gonna do a product-based business. And my brother had sent me a video on the lion's mane mushroom and the turkey tail mushrooms, and I learned about how the mushrooms have abilities to um to heal almost any ailment in one way, shape, or another. And and I remember watching those videos and thinking that seems like a worthy cause. That seems like something I could be passionate about for the rest of my life. I started going uh toward the organic side of things back in like 2008 when everybody thought that was crazy. And um, and so I decided that I would open a an apothecary that was just all natural options to all your daily essentials. And um, once I got it a little bigger, I said, uh, you know, I don't just need to be online. Columbus needs this. And so here we are on Broadway.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

And you're really connecting to the other businesses that are down here around you. You do we do.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

So not only do we house all of these different businesses, but um we I I like to just kind of get out there and connect with the other people, the other owners. I feel like with the right kind of network, we can grow uptown into a really, really special shopping destination location.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

And speaking of with the right connections, you've also connected with some organizations here that are making a huge difference in this community, and that's kind of what I really wanted to talk to you about today. Coming up this Saturday, you have a nourish and flourish event. So tell me about that.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

So the Warriors of Light is a committee that's a number of us small business owners that came together that just wanted to better the community in general. We um get together to work on different charitable projects, and uh Sammy happens to be the head of the Warriors of Light committee, and and she met a lady named Mary uh that runs a farm, and she said, You guys, this farm is amazing. They are a nonprofit farm in what's considered a food desert, uh, part of uh MLK, and um they have crops and chickens and ducks that are all raised and grown so they can turn around and give the eggs and vegetables away for free to the needy families in the community. And the thing that really got Sammy involved is her passion for kids. And when she found out that it is the kids of the community that run the farm, she was sold and she wanted us to have an event there, and so we thought it was just gonna be a little thing where we brought together the people who live in the community so that they would know um that there's fresh vegetables and eggs there for them to take, and then it became something way bigger.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

So, how in the world could Columbus, Georgia have something considered a food desert? And what is a food desert for anyone that doesn't understand?

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Food deserts are kind of considered to be an area where you do not have grocery stores within close walking distance. So um the GW Carver uh Victory Garden and Farms is located on the back side of Marshall Success Center that is off Shepherd Drive and MLK. It's kind of right there in what is considered an at-risk low-income community. And the people who don't drive in that area would have to walk miles to be able to get to a grocery store, or they rely on their family members or friends to be able to take them to the grocery store, or they're having to tote all of these bags on a bus line to get to the grocery store and home. And so that's what they consider a food desert to be is an area where you don't have a lot of fresh um produce available uh within walking distance.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

And I would imagine something like this being instilled into children now, that's gonna make generational change.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

It will, it will for sure, and we've already talked with multiple locations about having more in the future. So it is considered to be a um a curated vendor market. We do have people there um educating on gut health and uh wellness programs and detoxification of heavy metals and chemicals and parasites and all the things that cause the main illnesses and ailments in the body. Um we have people that are going to be there uh selling products that can help heal your body. We're gonna have people there just educating on what can help heal your body. But a big part of this for us is the kids. Because if Columbus wants to have the best reputation possible, we're gonna have to start with our kids. If we want less violence on the streets and we want less gangs on the streets, then we're gonna have to start with the kids. We want to start young and we want to allow them to see with their own eyes that there are greater futures they can pursue. They just because mom didn't go to college or brother didn't go to college doesn't mean that you couldn't go to college. Just because you know your family doesn't have the money for college or you don't have the SATs for college doesn't mean that there isn't a potential trade school that you could go to. And so we actually have extended to education um programs set up where they can come and talk to a woman that will tell them and let them sign up to inquire on more information for trade schools that are available in the area. And some of them are paid to work, like paid to go to school, trade schools. So you might go in for urban farming and you can be um be in school for a little while in urban farming, and then you'll get paid to work on a local farm. So that's exciting stuff. That's a big passion for us is educating the masses, um, letting the community know about nourishing and natural options to all your daily essentials. You know, most people don't know that the the um heavy metals in deodorant causes breast cancer. And there's natural deodorants. I sell seven different types of natural deodorants at Farmher because that's super important. You know, cancer is eating up the community, and most people don't understand that cancer is fed by sugar, that cancer is bred by negativity, and that um cancer can't live in a body that's properly alkanized, and they don't understand that that that things like turkey tail mushrooms can dissolve tumors in your body, and all of that is stuff that people need to know, and we're here with all the knowledge, and we just want to spread it.

SPEAKER_00 7:41

Yeah, you can't you can't blame people for doing things if they just don't know what they don't know. That's right. But if you're watching this, now you know, so come on in. Um what what would be your big message to people out there if they have time, energy, or money when it comes to both this event and that farm that you're gonna be highlighting?

SPEAKER_01 8:06

So a big thing for us is um kids uh can volunteer at the farm. The the hope dealers, that's what they call the kids that run the farm is hope dealers. They are between the ages of 13 and 20, and they go out to the farm in the mornings and they take great pride in their work. You know, they tend to the gardens, they pull the crops, they do all the stuff. They clean them, they get them ready, they do everything for the local community. Kids can volunteer this summer. Um, they can volunteer on the weekends when they're back in school. Um, parents can volunteer, parents can donate. A $5 donation to the Nourish and Flourish Festival makes so much more of an impact than you could possibly imagine. You don't have to have $250 or $1,500 to be able to throw money at a program like this. You can have $5 and we have it set up to where you can actually donate $5 a month. You can get on a program to where you donate $20 a month, and it goes towards future projects and future healing goals that we have for the community. Um obviously, if you are a business and you have money to throw into charities this year, these are great charities. The GW Carver Victory Garden Farm is a farm ran by Turnaround Columbus, and Turnaround Columbus is a wonderful charitable organization that has set everything up to help to get drugs off the streets, kids off the streets, um, violence to an all-time low, and that's their goal, and they are doing an amazing job at it.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

So if you're out there and you're watching this and you have a little bit of money to throw their way and you complain at all about the violence in Columbus, that's right. Give to a program that's helping.

SPEAKER_01 9:52

That's right, because it starts with the kids. The kids are the ones when we give them things to do, because idle hands, you know, all your grandparents said idle hands is not not what you what you want to have. Um so if if you've got uh a little money to to donate, if you've got a little time to donate, every bit of it makes a difference. We are still looking for volunteers just to be on the ground this Saturday. Um it's Saturday the 13th. It's going to be from 2 to 7 and 1830 Shepherd Drive is the address of the GW Carver Farm. It is the back side of the Marshall Success Center. Um, there's ample parking. We have um washing hand washing stations and porta potties everywhere and handicap accessible things for you know everyone to be able to come out and enjoy. There's supposed to be a bouncy house, face painting, fairy hair, a sugar scrub bar. I think they may even bring the candle, build your own candle bar from the shop. Yes. Um, lots of good food. We have a Michelin star chef that's going to be there talking to the kids about how he started as a dishwasher and never went to culinary school. And um a couple different five-star chefs are gonna be there preparing meals. Um we have uh a food truck, um, we have uh, you know, drinks to serve, um, lots of fun stuff uh for the kids, for the parents, lots of education, just lots of everything.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Get on out there, y'all. Yeah, that's all I can say is get on out there.

SPEAKER_01 11:27

Yeah, people coming together, people helping people.

SPEAKER_00 11:29

I'll be reading to the little ones.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

So yes, Raven is reading her book to the little ones. That's right. We have a couple different children's book readers coming. Um, a couple different people that have written children's books. Raven is one of them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

So do you have any last word at all on that or on your business?

SPEAKER_01 11:51

So um, you know, anything that you want to do, feel free to contact. You can call me over at Farm Her Mercantile. You can roll in here. We are here seven days a week, always by noon, always till at least seven. Um, my dog lady is our greeter. She comes running to the front with a big old smile to greet you when you get here. Um, we have uh Facebook and Instagram and all that, so you can follow us to see what we're doing. And um, you can text, call, farm her. It's 706-794-0036. Um, get in touch with us, reach out, see what you can do. We've got another one scheduled to come a couple months, and then another one after a couple months, and hopefully another one after a couple months. We are going to go around to every low-income at-risk part of our community and try to touch those kids. Um, the Warriors of Light is a committee that meets to help do charitable things at group homes and um homes of abused children and stuff like that. So if that's what you're passionate about, reach out to us to be part of that committee. We meet every other Tuesday upstairs.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Reach out to her. And just so you know, just to verify, there's no unpaid labor labor here. Lady does greet for treats.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

She does. Lady greets for treats. She's very well paid. She's at least $7 a day employee. She is.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Well, you guys, thank you so much. Make sure I'll put the very first comment will be the flyer for the event. And then um, yeah, give Mandy a call if if you're interested in this event. If you're interested in her store, step on in.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Yes, thank you guys so much. We appreciate you.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Thanks. Bye.