The Farm Stand on Afton’s Way

Afton Marowelli cut the ribbon in front of the Farm Stand at 2438 Afton’s Way last Friday.  A number of the vendors which will be selling their merchandise from the Stand (many of whom have been selling since the stand unofficial started earlier this year) were on hand to help.  

Allissa Galindo is one of the many vendors who have been using the Farm Stand as a way to support their income.  She has been with Afton “since she started it up in the trailer, I’m pretty sure,” Galindo says.  Galindo had been doing farm work, but conditions of her pregnancy required her to make some changes, and that brought her to the Farm Stand.  “I like it—I get to stay home.  It’s hard to beat.”

It’s easier to see the Farm Stand in order to understand it. You should visit--it’s a fun and inviting place!

 The Farm Stand provides a convenient hyperlocal marketplace for the vendors who can keep their products available for purchase without the need for a full retail space or a fulltime employee to monitor the transactions.  In that sense, it’s a very DIY approach to marketing and sales.  The approach also seems to have created a strong sense of shared effort between Marowelli and the vendors, who playfully gathered together for the ribbon cutting.  Afton’s personality inspires that sort of reaction. 

“Thank you all for coming—we really appreciate it.” Marowelli said, armed with enormous scissors.  “I’m not good at this, so I’m going to just wing it,” she said, to laughter.  “We’re up to about 50 vendors, all southeast Idaho small businesses.  We’re open seven days a week 8a.m. to 8 p.m.  If the lights are off, they’re automatic—so even if they are off, you’re okay to go inside anytime the door’s not locked.  I really appreciate you guys coming—thank you!”

Following the dispatching of a stubborn ribbon, she continued.  “My passion is small businesses in the community. I love small businesses, I love supporting local.  A couple of the vendors are from further out, but I feel like if we bring those in it helps keep the rest of you local, because you can come out here and shop, rather than go to Pocatello for those items.  The main reason I started it was to help small businesses—I’ve been there before and I know how hard it is.” 

A table was set up for visitors to sample some of the products at the Farm Stand and meet some of the vendors who sold them.  Many of the vendors were from right in or near Soda Springs, like Stacey Rasmussen from Thunder Mountain Elk Ranch.  Samples of elk jerky were available.  “This is just a small sampling of the flavors we have,” she noted.  

Afton Marowelli with vendor Stacey Rasmussen on the official opening day.

Kathy Torgesen, from Hilltop Honey, is even closer.  She could literally point her house out from the Farm Stand.  “I have beeswax products—soaps, lotions, various balms, deodorants, candles, beard balm, moustache wax…we have a lot!”  Torgesen started making the beeswax products just this summer, but has come to love it.  The house she pointed out is also where the bees who make the product live.  “We have the beeswax product here—there is also Brown’s Honey, so we don’t double up on that.”

Bear Lake County’s Tammy Robinson from Robinson Beef and Dairy Ranch was also there.  “We have a variety of raw milk products, including both cow and goat milk.  We also make cheeses.”  There were curds, milk samples, and “I grow the tomato and basil in my garden,” she said.

Some were from even farther away, like Aliyah Gamino and Alex Carlson, who came down from Blackfoot for the opening.  Their Ghost Goodies product is a dog food and treat line.  “We just did our two years in November.”  They meet with Afton in Pocatello to restock the farm stand every week.

Normally, the stand accepts Venmo and exact cash.  Payment points are in the Farm Stand building, which is located in a residential neighborhood at the extreme west end of the Soda Springs city area (by second bridge).  Purchasers are asked to pay for and then log their transactions.  The premises are of course surveilled, but otherwise the experience is very informal, friendly, and straightforward.  

Wicked Brew was there to provide coffee and treats.  

Baked Fresh Sourdough, Brown’s Honey, Bucket O’ Balls, Galindo Homestead, Thunder Mountain Elk Ranch, Rocky Top Goat Soap, LeapKnot Coffee, Caribou Carmels, Pure Hygge Simmers, HillTop Honey, Heritage Family Farms, Brown’s Bees, Robinson Beef and Dairy Ranch, Missupcycled, Ghost Goodies, and many more.