August 2014 – On Saturday August 23, Fort Bragg held its first local farmers’ market. Timed to coincide with the popular monthly 5k walk/run sponsored by the Fort Bragg MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) office, the market featured four farmers selling a variety of fresh produce and value-added products.

The impetus to start an on-base Farmers Market came from LTG Anderson, the 18th Airborne Corps Commanding General, says Michelle Hagwood, Fort Bragg Family and MWR Business Operations Officer. “Commanding General Anderson wanted to see it happen,” she says.

But it was easier said than done. “I couldn’t find the farmers,” she explains. Then Hagwood connected with John Day, NCGT’s Military Partnership Coordinator, and Patricia Tripp, who wears two hats as NCGT’s Wholesaler Liaison and Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s Produce Safety Coordinator.

Day and Tripp introduced Hagwood to Fayetteville-area farmers who were interested in selling on-base, while Tripp worked with them to get their farms GAPs-certified. The USDA-developed GAPs (Good Agricultural Practices) certification system focuses on best practices to minimize microbial contamination risks in the produce supply chain.

“They have those connections [to farmers]. I don’t think we would have had a farmers market on Saturday if not for John and Trish”, she says. One of the farmers selling at the market is Vince Evans of Evans Family Farm, who was featured in last month’s NCGT update.

Having an on-base Farmers Market supports efforts to keep soldiers healthy, Hagwood says. “We need our soldiers to be physically and mentally fit, and whatever you put in your body contributes to that,” she notes.

The next Fort Bragg Farmers’ Market is scheduled for September 27. For more information, please visit the Fort Bragg MWR website or contact John Day, NCGT Military Partnership Coordinator, at john_day@ncsu.edu or 704-785-6670.

This article originally appeared in the August 2014 NC Growing Together Newsletter.