Oxford Local Adds Veganism to LOU Community Palates

By Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com

Oxford local Katie Topberry began her journey to veganism in 2013 when she first decided to give up the carnivore lifestyle and dubbed herself a vegetarian. Two years later, she decided to make the full transition to veganism.

Veganism can look different for different people, she said. Although the term does not mean healthy, she approaches the lifestyle following an organic, whole foods, plant-based diet, which she said basically means she eats a lot of plants.
The Vegetarian Times’ “Vegetarianism in America” study presented that 3.2 percent of adults (7.3 million) considered themselves vegetarian while approximately 0.5 percent (1 million) considered themselves to be vegan in 2008.
With the dietary lifestyle growing, Topberry realized the foods she was most interested in—prepared vegan food other than raw vegetables—was scarce in the LOU community, which led her to her own business, Mrs. Hippie’s Baked Goods.
Topberry has trained at both vegan and gluten free bakeries, which has given her the skillset to create vegan and mostly gluten free products that use 90 percent organic ingredients, she said.
“I realized that what I want to see (options for everyone, no matter their diet or allergies) does not exist in this area of Mississippi,” she said. “So I decided to fill in the gap and do it myself.”
Noticing that the Oxford Community Market (OXCM)—located at the Old Armory Pavillion on Tuesday evenings—lacked these products, Topberry jumped on the opportunity. She said there were plenty of bakers at the time, however, none of them offered gluten free products, much less egg and dairy free.
“Since spending more time at the market I have found a couple of other vendors with an accidentally vegan item or two, which was a nice surprise,” she said.
Now Topberry spends her Tuesday afternoons selling her vegan products at the OXCM. She said as a vendor, the market is one of the highlights of her week.

“I get to connect with other local entrepreneurs and local shoppers,” she said. “We see so many familiar faces, from different times in our lives [at the market].”
Topberry described the market as a close knit community where customers can actually meet those behind the scenes of their products and produce—unlike supermarkets—which allows customers to learn which farms the produce came from and shake the hands of the farmers that grew them, she said.
“Shopping locally keeps money out of the hands of big corporations and puts [the money] in the pockets of local friends and neighbors, who are likely to spend it locally themselves,” she said.
Topberry said the value of the market is huge for the community, especially with the hard work Betsy Chapman, market director of OXCM, has put into the OXCM.
“[She] has raised it from its infancy into the bustling spot it is now,” she said.
Topberry has now expanded her vegan products from the market to the Chicory Market—located on Old Highway 7—where she plans to keep her goods stocked year round.
For more information on Topberry’s Mrs. Hippie’s Baked Goods, visit her Facebook page here.

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