This blog entry comments on Cynthia Josephs article concerning the Laurel Village Community Farmers Market and is written by a small business person who sells at the market.

Thank you Thank you  Thank you.

As the owner/operators of Wingwalker*s Baking Company, we are so happy to see this market finally getting some well deserved attention and press. OFC operates outside of the mainstream norm and provides services the so-called other farmers market organizations (Urban Village, PCFMA, Marin Farmers Market Assoc.) don’t care to do, probably because the profit incentive isn’t there for their type of larger corporate operations, i.e.; "Beckman’s" of Santa Cruz or "Edith's" of Modesto (large scale, out of area commercial bakeries that undercut prices, have deliverymen not BAKERS selling their goods.

These practices unfortunately are entrenched throughout the entire bay areas Farmers Markets and many local grocery stores, thereby depriving local artisan bakers the opportunity to sell their goods in their own home towns). No ACME, No SemiFreddies, No WingWalkers? That leaves little to no room for small fry’s like myself to ever get a start, which is what I thought the Farmers Markets were a vehicle for, not to buoy the advantages of well established corps, in the guise of small businesses.

Jason Harvey, OFC's founder and driving force, is committed to bringing quality foodstuffs to underserved neighborhoods at an affordable price, without resorting to inviting in greedy corporate entities and by providing an equitable playfield for small businesses like our self.

We can easily say, without the flexibility we found at the Laurel Village Community Farmers Market, or the support from our loyal base of customers, we would most likely not still be in business in today’s volatile economy.

We base this on the experience of attending and selling at hundreds of Farmers Markets in the last few years, run by other organizations, whose only goal was to collect their $40-$60 per space selling fee at the end of every market.

They didn't care where the food came from, the variety or availability of goods (too many grape vendors, too many bakers etc) and they certainly didn't care if it helped or hurt local businesses, or served the communities they entered, it seems in hindsight they only cared about their bottom line, disconcerting for supposed non-profits, which they all claim to be.

Kudos to you Laurel Village, with local businesses like Trattoria Laurellinos, Butta Qutzs and OFC, you make the market successful every week, you don’t hurt anyone in the process and we appreciate it.

At this point, even if offered a space at another market we would easily and without hesitation, turn it down flat. We are committed to building and maintain a loyal customer base in our own neighborhood (we live on Georgia St. in the triangle and are working towards a real storefront in our own neighborhood). In short, WingWalker*s Hella Loves Oakland and Hella Loves the Laurel. We want to put back as much as we get, if not more, from the neighborhood. Keeping our dollars local.

We like the idea that the market is so small, to us it means unlimited growth in an area that is very deprived of most everything except quality hair care and nail salons. Although we do not encourage nor discourage people to drive to our market we want them to know that there is a lot more free side street parking available at our farmers market than any other in Oakland. Come and see for yourself. If taking the bus , the AC/Transit NL and NX have stops right in front.

To show my bakery's gratitude, anyone mentioning this story will receive a free piece of hand-dipped chocolate this Saturday (3/6/10) at the Market (9am -2pm) 4173 MacArthur Blvd between 38th and High St

Thanks again for the support and as we always say, "Well see you at market this week, so buy local and go home happy."



Sincerely,


Christian and Stefanie Smitherum

WingWalkers Baking Company

Oakland CA