It is such a bittersweet thing to have to say goodbye to each and every one of you after being on this journey together for the last 4 years. We started this business here in York with ambition and zeal in the hopes of supporting our young and growing family. Our dream was to grow, expand and serve our community and, in many unexpected ways, we did just that.
When we first opened, we admittedly knew very little about food but were recently passionate about it after the birth of our first daughter, Lucia. We began to understand the true value of taking care of our bodies through nutrition, mostly because we now had this little human that we were responsible for keeping healthy. Our battle against corn syrups, GMO’s, and processed foods began. Little by little, the mustard seed of a dream of owning a farm and growing/raising our own food took root. Now we are deep in the raw milk, grass fed meat, and soy free animal feed for all of our animals.
Alternatively, in the same week we opened, we received a devastating diagnosis for our second daughter who was 20 weeks in utero and a little thing called COVID paralyzed the world. Our world was rocked, our hearts were broken, and so much uncertainty laid in our near future. We were very close to closing our doors within that first month, but through prayer, we decided that we needed to continue.
Everyone knows what happened during COVID and truly, the market has never really been the same. So many long standing businesses left, customers never came back, and the overall attitude of people seemed to change as everyone socially distanced and isolated. Most of you, hopefully, likewise know the story of our daughter, how she had a miraculous birth and recovery, and how it impacted our faith, our family and our lives. God had truly blessed us and we are grateful to have been able to share God’s intervention in our lives at what seemed to be an extremely dark time in the world’s history.
After our first year, we decided to make the move and buy land, thinking that in 5-10 years we could build on it and make our dream of a farm a reality. With God’s help and the real estate boom, however, we were able to build sooner rather than later, establishing Per Mariam Farm in April 2022. Per Mariam comes from the Latin “Ad Jesum Per Mariam” or “To Jesus Through Mary”; we decided this was the most appropriate name because without the constant intervention of our Blessed Mother calling us closer to Christ, it would have never become a reality.
Before we even moved into our home or had a coop, we bought 30 chicks! Soon after came another 30. Then finally some goats. Since then, we expanded our flock to about 90 chickens, 5 turkeys, 9 ducks, 5 pigs, and those 4 goats we bought had 6 babies! Soon… cows. Though the work load has been intense and though we have made many mistakes along the way, we consider it a great privilege that God has entrusted these 20 acres and all the humans and animals on it to our care so that we may participate in His creation.
So, to answer the big question of “why are we closing”, I will do my best to explain. There are many things which we value, but one of the things that has become so precious to us as a family is time. We are in the prime of our family’s development. Lucia who was barely 1 year old when we opened, just turned 5. She loves learning to read, her (home)schoolwork, sports, the farm and games. Arianna who was still growing in mommy’s belly, just turned 3. She loves imitating her big sister, loving everyone with a full heart, being a big sister, and drawing us all surprise cards. Daniel who was only a thought at the time we opened, was conceived, born, and just turned 1. He’s literally the sweetest boy we know and loves doing anything to make his sisters laugh. Baby number 4 is now on the way and we are so excited to see how this child will change our lives and shape our family even more. Our family is in our prime and we want to take the time to cherish these moments we will never get back. We have made it a priority to be together, as a family should be.
Working full time in the fire department, running the market, and cultivating a farm does not provide much of an opportunity for us to make that time together happen. We have made the decision that, in order for something to steal that time away, it must provide something bountifully in return. Unfortunately, that just has not been the case here financially.
When we first opened our business, it took many deliberations and drawings to come up with just the right logo. We wanted something clean, classy, and meaningful. The bee and wheat are an ode to ComplEAT’s logo, whom occupied the stand before us, and signify the healthy balance nature and the food we consume provide. But, hidden in the center is a sword where the wheat intersects, purposefully forming the Chi Rho,( ) a catholic symbol signifying the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek. We decided that at the center of every decision we would make as a business, would be Christ. Not only that, but we wanted to send Christ home with each and every person that came to our stand, even if it was just on a sticker on a bag of oats, on the copy of your receipt, or on one of our business cards. More than anything, however, we hope that you experienced Christ in some capacity with us and we want you to know that we have prayed for each and every one of you, for all the intentions and concerns you have brought to us over the last 4 years, and thanked God for letting us cross paths in whatever capacity that may have been.
I cannot express how hard of a decision it is to leave this amazing market community. We are so grateful for all of you who have supported us these past 4 years. Please know that we truly never viewed anyone as a customer (probably cause I’m a really bad salesman and also why we weren’t making money [joking]); but you have all been considered part of our Homegrown Marketplace Family, from Day 1 to Day 1385. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for being part of our journey, for watching our family grow, and for all the love you have shown us; more so, thank you for letting us be part of your journey, for letting us watch your progress in life and in health, and for letting us love you back.
God Bless you all,
Homegrown Marketplace Family
