Messy and Picky

So we've been open for a week and change and now it was time for the official Grand Opening Ceremony of Fair Food Farmstand complete with a homemade, local "ribbon" made by the RTM staff. Above is Fair Food Executive Director Ann Karlen cutting the ribbon with the largest pair of scissors I've ever seen in my life. Behind her are some of the farmers who make what we do possible and to the right of the photo are some of the staff and volunteers who keep things running smoothly.

Fellow lover of food and blogger Bob estimated the crowd to be about 200 people and given that he's a former reporter, I'll take him on his word. There were tons of people packed into the mid-12th St side entryway extending up a few stalls and stretching into the aisle by Carmen's and Olympic Gyro (whose stool I climbed up on to take this shot).

General Manager of RTM, Paul Steinke, got up and said a few words about the market and the ever-growing relationship with Fair Food. Everyone's come a long way in the last 6 years or so. A representative from the Department of Agriculture made the trip from DC to say a few words. They've been integral in promoting local food throughout the US recently. I'll save my political commentary on the Cabinet appointee for another time. Karen Randal, Director of Business Attraction, from the Mayor's Office also spoke about the local food scene.

Keynote speaker for the day was Marion Nestle, author and professor on all things food. She was in town for a conference and came by to commend the Market and Fair Food for their accomplishments. She lauded the crowd for coming out to celebrate the grand opening of a local food institution in such grand numbers and saw before her eyes the future of food in the United States. Above is the always dapper Steinke speaking with Nestle after the ceremony.

It was cool to see tons of media at the event. Here's a KYW reporter talking to my co-worker Genevieve about identifying good corn while Ann is being interviewed by Fox29 or ABC6 right behind her.

And here's a lady who was integral in the founding of Fair Foods: Judy Wicks. Steinke and Randal recognized her from the podium earlier and thanked her for her work at White Dog and beyond. Her impact on sustainable business is nationwide and it's pretty cool to have her in Philly.

Staffers new and old were at the opening to see how far the project has come. Speaking to Naestle to the right is former manager of the Farmstand Emily Teel and to the left is current manager Sarah Cain. I was thinking about getting a big old group shot, but there was so much going on with people actually working on top of networking, I thought it would hurt the vibe.

And here's new Farmstand GM Seth Kalkstein, formerly of DiBruno Brothers, catching up with Steinke during the opening madness. Seth will be bringing a little more big business savvy to the Farmstand in the coming months and years.

Here's KYW's reporter speaking with Sue Miller of Birchrun Hills Farm who makes an amazing blue cheese and a Highland Alpine which she has in her hand. And there's the representative from the USDA peeking into the frame behind her.

It was awesome to see a ton of regular customers come out for the grand opening. The Farmstand wouldn't exist without people committed to buying quality, local products. If you haven't stopped by yet, come on down. We'll be open 7 days a week starting this Monday. Bigger photos in this flickr set.

Also there was uwishunu. Bob's put up his post on the event as well.

Fair Food Farmstand
M – Sat: 8a – 6p
Su: 9a – 5p
215.627.2029
Reading Terminal Market
12th & Arch Sts

This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Announcements, Events, Reading Terminal Market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.