Melissa West and Brandon Iker created the Wylie Urban Farm & Market to feed, educate and connect the people it serves. The Farm & Market is open Tuesday through Sunday at 2315 East Stone Road. Photo Allison LaBrot
The Wylie Urban Farm & Market is going beyond the boundaries of traditional farmers markets to make local goods and community gatherings accessible year-round. Since mid-November, founder and owner Brandon Iker has welcomed visitors and vendors alike to make the business their “third place,” a social space apart from home and the workplace.
Raised as a farm kid in Ohio, Iker saw the “third place” in action as a grad student in Tucson, Arizona and was inspired to combine the concepts of local food and community to create his own. He saw a need for such a place in Wylie soon after moving to the area.
“When I came to (Wylie), I immediately thought, ‘Oh, wow, there’s a white space here that this could be built,’ because the community needs it…I was isolated as a new person in the community,” Iker said.
When Rachel Echols, Wylie Farmers Market owner and manager, was first putting together the local farmers market, Iker expressed a desire to help through a direct message. Melissa West, now Wylie Urban Farm & Market’s project manager and event coordinator, sent a similar message, and both she and Iker participated as vendors.
At the end of the farmers market season, Iker reached out to Echols again with the idea of an indoor market for all seasons. She connected her vendors with the Wylie Urban Farm & Market before stepping back to focus on the farmers market.
To read the full story, stay informed and support local journalism subscribe to your community newspaper The Wylie News today!
By Allison LaBrot | [email protected]
0 Comments