The Weblog
The local foods movement is alive and well in Champaign County! Here are some updates on other projects while we finalize our virtual market:
Local Producers Map:
Our local producers map is ready for publication and you will soon be able to find it on gochampaign.com. Copies will be distributed around the community, in the local telephone book, and other “hangouts”. The guide lists the location and contact information for nearly 50 local producers within our county. The map was a project of the Local Food Council and printed with the help of some local sponsors including the Monument Square District, Champaign Bank, the Community Improvement Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, the Farm Bureau and others. It is a great start to finding a local source for Champaign County’s finest!
The Promised Land
Swing low sweet chariot, come down easy
Taxi to the terminal zone
Cut your engines, cool your wings
And let me make it to the telephone
(Grateful Dead – Promised Land)
Well, well, well, guess who just blew back into town? Yes, your favorite market manager is back from her quick trip down to Knoxville!!
Road trips are my favorite things!! Blasting down the open road, tunes blaring, not a care in the world…destination is all ahead of you!!
Saturday, I left the Springfield Farmers Market, and started my journey to the south!! Grateful Dead tunes on, volume cranked, with this song as my favorite road trip song to kick it all off. You see, you need good road trip tunes, you need a playlist, you need a blast off song, you need an exit song…Bob’s voice in this song kicked it all off on both ways of the trip.
My destination was Knoxville with a few stops in between. I am a Mid-Western girl by birth but a Southern girl via college and early stages of my adult life.
The South is a magical and mystical place. You may leave it for years and years but as soon as you return, you are reminded of the charm, the ways of all things southern, and the easy pace of things.
The Cosmic co-ed is also a product of the south! She was born and raised, in her early years, in Florida. She is an original Florida Cracker! They are a rare and celebrated thing down in the heart of Florida. She attends my alma mater in Kentucky AND she is interning in Knoxville. She shares my love and respect for the south and it’s southern charm.
On the way down, my road trip hit a bit of a snag. It could have been disastrous, but quick thinking, and lucking into a situation with southern gentlemen, knowing they would take pity on this girl, the situation was fixed, the road trip was back on the road, and my forever faith in the southern friendliness, hospitality, and charm, was never shaken!
It was customer service in the top shelf form!! And, as I was sitting in an out of the way southern auto shop, I was thankful for these southern ways, the customer service that was displayed, and how it reminded me of our little local market of love!
While we may not be southern at heart, I do feel that we run a market that is first and foremost, customer satisfaction driven!! It is important, to me, that all customers are happy and taken care of!! I manage the Mechanicsburg Market the same way!! Customers and their happiness and satisfaction come first!! The same with my own Cosmic Charlie business…the customer is first, the customer MUST be happy, and the most important thing, above all, is to give the love that makes it all happen!!
I feel that we do that, each week, in this market!! Our customers love the market, they compliment us, and they know that we are there for them, no matter what.
Let us show you what local customer service is all about!! Get your orders in, put your trust in us, and let us show you the love that we are known for!!
It is Monday!! Your market manager is monitoring the market. She is ready to make this week happen for each of you!!
We have some crazy weeks ahead of us…let us be your local satisfaction…let us make it all easy…
Give us your orders….we will give you our charm!!
Peace and Love,
Cosmic Pam