Home » Blog » Farm Store opening this spring

Farm Store opening this spring

Preparations have already begun to transform a room at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice into a Farm Store.

Citing changes in current consumer preference, White Violet Center for Eco-Justice Director Lorrie Heber said the facility is moving forward with plans to create its own Farm Store.

“Some of our traditional market channels to sell produce have changed,” Lorrie said. “We are responding to those changes.”

Lorrie said “flash sales” at the center last year helped with the progress of creating the new store.

“We had tremendous success with the sales at the center last summer and realized that folks in and around the sister’s campus would like to have and are willing to support a store,” Lorrie said. “At the same time, we did some longer range facility planning and realized that we had perfect space for a store that could be transformed with minimal effort.”

The store will be inside the center, located at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 10 minutes northwest from downtown Terre Haute. It will be on the east side of the building with parking right at the door.

“The entrance is soon to have a new door with an awning and a chalkboard telling customers what is available inside,” Lorrie said.

Lorrie said after the success of the “flash sales,” White Violet Center associates began researching farm-based stores in order to prepare a proposal for the Sisters of Providence General Council.

“They approved our proposal in August 2016,” Lorrie said. “Since then, we’ve been working on staffing, policies and procedures, product mix, merchandising and promotion and more. There’s a lot to do!”

Currently, Lorrie said plans indicate the store will have a soft opening in late April and will offer White Violet Center pasture-raised hen eggs, the center’s USDA-certified organic produce, apple cider, seeds and bedding plants.

“We will also sell food items from other local farms and we are working on relationships with several to provide meat, cheese, syrup, honey, flour, candles, and more,” she added. “We’ll also stock hard-to-find items to complement our workshops. For example, we’ll offer cheese cultures and rennets when we have our cheese-making course, or we’ll offer worm composting systems when we have our worm composting class.”

Lorrie believes many will benefit from the store.

“The person who lives in the area who wants to buy the freshest foods possible from their local farmer and the local farmer will benefit the most,” she said. “Right now, the only way to access a full range of fresh, local foods is through the Terre Haute Farmers’ Market, which is only open one day a week for just a few hours during winter months. Local farmers have the same issue. This will provide them another outlet to sell their goods.”

Share this:

Jason Moon

Jason Moon

Jason Moon serves as media relations manager for the Sisters of Providence. Previously, he spent more than 16 years in the newspaper industry.

Plan for your future!

Leave the things you value to the people and purposes you value most.

Updated Estate Planning Info. here

Farm Internships!

Are you interested in interning at White Violet Center?

Learn more here

7 Comments

  1. Avatar Donna Butler on January 26, 2017 at 9:18 am

    Lorrie and WVC staff,
    Congratulations on this new upcoming achievement that will benefit both WVC and local farmers! Your creativity and hard work are literally paying off! You are awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Avatar Lorrie Heber on January 26, 2017 at 3:17 pm

      Thank you, S. Donna! You’re pretty awesome yourself! L

  2. Avatar Cathy Campbell, SP on January 26, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    What a great idea! I imagine even the college students when they are on campus might enjoy getting some fresh veggies, eggs, and apple cider from the store. Thanks for always looking for new possibilities.

  3. Avatar Donna Sweney on January 26, 2017 at 4:50 pm

    Very cool. I shared this on twitter and Facebook. Good luck!

    • Avatar Cheryl Casselman on January 27, 2017 at 11:42 am

      Thank you for sharing!

  4. Avatar Mary Ryan on January 26, 2017 at 9:28 pm

    Congratulations Lorrie and WVC Staff! A great idea. Thanks for pursuing it.

    Sister Mary

  5. Avatar Fern on January 27, 2017 at 5:47 am

    Great idea – looking forward to shopping here!

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.