Groveland Exchange Advocates for Local Ag Producers
Supporting the local ag industry isn’t always easy.
In some areas, there are no local farmers markets, or if they do exist, they may not feature many products from local growers. This is a frustration shared not only by consumers but also by many producers as they struggle to find a local market to sell their goods.
In fact, this was exactly the problem faced by Groveland poultry farmer Dan Corsi.
“About two years ago I started raising poultry on a small 10-acre farm,” Corsi recounts. “We wanted to sell in local farmers markets, but we found that none really existed here in Groveland, and we ended up going to markets farther away.”
Selling his products in these markets required Corsi to make lengthy round trips that took hours.
“It just seemed to defeat the purpose of being a local grower,” he says with a laugh.
Corsi decided to be the change he wanted to see in his community and create a place where small, local producers could sell their products: the Groveland Community Market.
“Groveland has a lot of small producers, and they all sell outside of Groveland,” Corsi says. “So we saw a huge need to create that platform.”
Getting it started, however, wasn’t easy.
“It was a real learning curve for us,” Corsi recounts.
He faced a substantial hurdle that resonates throughout the ag community: Many farmers simply don’t have time for markets. When they do go, it’s not routine and it’s often to farmers markets that are already well established.
“Starting a new market takes 15 years to really get going,” Corsi notes.
But he didn’t want to wait that long. He sat down with city officials to talk about ways to promote local farms and bring attention to what’s happening in their own backyards. They decided to create a growers co-op: Groveland Exchange.
“The co-op is basically a multi-farm Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model,” he explains. “We work with about 15 different producers regularly, and over 20 seasonally, and we’re adding people every month.”
Rather than being an exclusive contract — something Corsi is quick to say he’s not a fan of — members of the co-op are free to sell wherever they want. The co-op takes no commission or markups; they’re there solely to support local producers.
“I remember when we started raising poultry, we would have chefs and wholesalers coming to us offering pennies on the dollar for our products. We didn’t want to do that,” he explains.
The co-op currently has 29 members, but Corsi says he expects that number to increase to roughly 50 by the end of 2025. Members of the co-op pay a low membership fee that works out to about $3 per week.
Corsi is more selective when it comes to the farmers market, however. He says they received more than 300 applications for the market, but membership is exclusive.
“We’re very selective of who we bring in and who we keep,” he explains. “We want to be a well-curated local market shopped by locals and supported by local vendors.”
The market is held on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 159 N. Main Ave., but it’s far from the only aspect of the co-op.
Groveland Exchange also operates a cafe, open Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 302 W. Orange Street, and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Revenue from the cafe helps support the co-op and its mission, and the cafe also provides a community space for Groveland residents to interact.
Those interested in purchasing through the co-op can place orders throughout the week then pick them up at the cafe.
The co-op also holds farm-to-table events and workshops, runs a compost exchange, and even coordinates dark sky viewing with local farmers and property owners. This last offer is made even better by the fact that Groveland is the first recognized International Dark Sky Community in the Southeastern U.S.
One member of the co-op is Robin Maynard Harris, founder of the Libby’s Legacy Breast Cancer Foundation and operator of Waterwell Farms, which provides free food to the cancer community.
“Having the exchange is very helpful because, as a nonprofit, we need folks to buy half the food we produce, so we can give the other half away,” she explains. “So without this resource, it would be much harder for us to do that.”
Maynard Harris also emphasises the value the co-op has for the health of local residents.
“Buying direct to farmers might be a little more expensive, but it’s also healthier, not just for the consumer but for the environment,” she says. “The exchange benefits the community by putting local dollars into the economy, allowing consumers to get everything local all in one place, and helping local farmers continue the work they do.”
The co-op has been around for about a year now, and it hasn’t been without its challenges.
“The hard part really is the emotional connection with the community and really trying to shift their shopping practices,” Corsi explains. “But when people come into the cafe, and they sit and talk with us, they believe in what we’re doing.”
Despite its challenges, however, the Groveland Exchange continues to make headway. Corsi continues to scout producers, as well as take applications from anyone interested, with more information available on their website, grovelandexchange.com.
“I believe this is something that can still exist in 20 years, or more,” Corsi says. “We aren’t doing this for the money, but because we love to do it and we’re passionate about supporting our community.”