Local foods take center stage at 1st Annual Ownership Event

On Monday, September 25th the Purple Carrot Market hosted its 1st Annual Ownership Event at Jerry and Jackie Januschka's (Owners #94) elegant barn venue just outside Little Falls. Current owners and their guests gathered in this local space to enjoy fellowship, food, and great live music provided by local band, Down River Drifters. Collectively we learned more about each other, the Purple Carrot Market, and its stage of development.

Social hour featuring a veggie platter of local produce gave way to a tasty meal comprised of a salad, Shepherd's Pie, roasted squash and apple crisp that was prepared by Tomas Zimmerman (Owner #174) of the A.T. Black & White. From the veggies to the bread and all the way down to the coffee to enjoyed with dessert, the food was all sourced locally from farmers, growers and producers. Everyone enjoyed each other's company while an update was given on the Purple Carrot's current status. Attendees took in all the information and asked some great questions about what is next with the Market.

Many folks stayed after the dinner and short presentation to enjoy the live music, the venue and, most importantly, the community of being with each other. Several non-owners were so excited to be a part of this event and the Co-op, they chose to become the newest owners themselves! Families and established local businesses were among the 14 new owners that were welcomed last night! The gift of an ownership share was even presented to a family to be able to partake in the Co-op (Did you know you can gift a share?! It's a great gift idea for that someone who doesn't need any more knick knacks!)

All in all, it was an amazing event put on by the Purple Carrot Market. When the night came to a close, the Co-op welcomed 14 new owners which brings our ownership to 234 households. Let's keep making our dreams become a reality with sharing the knowledge of what the Purple Carrot can and will do for our community!

Special thanks to:

• Jerry & Jackie Januschka for providing our wonderful venue. Also for donating the grass-fed, organic ground beef for the Shepherd's Pie.
  
• A.T. Black & White for preparing our delicious meal.
  
• Sprout for sourcing veggies and resources to make this event happen.
  
• Thrivent Financial Action Team grant for the funds to help make this event happen.
  
• Down River Drifters- local band that provided live music which we all enjoyed.
  
• Reality Roasters for providing the coffee to help warm our souls.
  
• C21 New Horizons Reality for providing the bottled water.
  
• Riley Nelson with Dying to Film, LLC for capturing candid moments of the evening which will provide a lifetime of memories to come.
  
• Purple Carrot Market Board of Directors for all their collective efforts to make this event a success.  Particular thanks goes to Ally White (Owner #179) for chairing the event.