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market their products. “I worked for 23 years in marketing for
Publisher’s Clearinghouse,” says Hurley. “This volunteer job
has turned out to be a perfect fit for me. The farmers’ market
truly is a celebration. When I look and see smiles on people’s
faces, I know that we are achieving our goals, especially when
the same people return again and again.”
Longtime vendors have been pleased to see the market
grow. Brenda Chinn first started selling her hot sauces and
soaps at the market in 1999, just two years after the market
was established. “In the beginning I sold two varieties of
hot sauce and now I am up to nine,” says Chinn, who began
working in the restaurant business at age 16.
“As a restaurant cook, I made sauces to go with entrees,”
says Chinn. “I wanted to find different ways to make our customers
excited. Pretty soon, they started buying the sauces
to take home — some even took it home in gallon jugs.”
That is when Chinn decided to bottle her special sauces and
joined the farmers’ market as a vendor. Her customers have
made suggestions about new sauces, and Chinn has listened.
“I have a new citrus-based hot sauce that is Jensen Beach
inspired with pineapple and mango.”
Chinn also makes soaps. “I had skin issues,” she says.
“I was always itching and realized that the ingredients in
store-bought soap irritated my skin.” Chinn now makes 60
varieties of soap, using honey from a local grower, shea butter,
vitamin E, essential oils and glycerin. She has fun creating
shapes, colors and designs for her soaps. “I love doing this,”
she says. “It’s relaxing and therapeutic. I’ll never quit.”
In years past, getting organic, locally grown vegetables was
challenging, but that changed when Brenda and Jim Gibbons
started Gibbons Farms in Fort Pierce. “We started small,” >>
Market manager Eric Seibenick loves interacting with patrons and vendors.
He is always seeking new products, especially those that are organic.
/www.nelsonfamilyfarms.com