Oxford Community Market Remains Open Despite Weather

By Carson McKinney
Hottytoddy.com intern

Despite the recent drop in temperature, the Oxford Community Market shows no signs of slowing down this Thanksgiving season.

The Oxford Community Market meets every Tuesday from 3-6:30 p.m. The market supports North Mississippi farmers and growers, allowing them to meet and sell a variety of fresh foods and baked goods. Director Betsy Chapman said there is still fresh food offered in the late fall to early winter seasons.

“One of the nice things about living in the South is that we can grow greens pretty much any time of the year,” Chapman said. “This time of year, we have lots of lettuces, cabbages, turnip greens, collard green and kale. All of the stuff that’s really good for you.”

Currently, Oxford Community Market is running a food drive to benefit the Oxford-Lafayette community. As a part of their “Harvest Angel” project, 75 bags of produce and 100 pounds of sweet potatoes will be donated to the university’s Adopt-a-Basket program, and many more bags of carrots, collard greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, radishes, lettuces, fresh eggs, baked goods, Delta rice and honey will be donated to Oxford Food Pantry and senior citizens at Canterbury Crest. Leadership Lafayette sponsored the project and purchased the provided food from local growers and producers.

“We have a lot of people here who have challenges accessing fresh, healthy food,” Chapman said. “Even though we live in a beautiful, little town, we still have people who are having those struggles, so it’s important to bring awareness to that.”

Chapman sees the food drive as a way to reach out to local families, so they may learn about the market and their charitable programs.

Enjoli Henderson, an Ole Miss junior journalism major, has volunteered at the Oxford Community Market for two months, and she sees the impact it makes.

“The community really comes together and does different things, especially for kids in the community,” Henderson said. “It’s just really nice to be able to come out and see this happening in my community.”

The Oxford Community Market will continue to run through the rest of November.