October 27, 2024
Jocelyn by Kathleen
K: So, hi, this is Kathleen interviewing Jocelyn at the farmer’s market with Colden Springs farm in Walden,New York. So Jocelyn, how long have you been here at the farmer’s market?
J: This is our third year here at Rosendale.
K: And how did you get into the farmer’s market or what’s the story of how you arrived here
in this community?
J: So we actually met Bob Fade from Fiddlehead Farm through a random event, I won’t go into that, but he had said there’s an opening at the Rosendale Farmers Market for a meat vendor.
So we decided to take the opportunity.
K: And what’s one of the things that you like about Rosendale – could be about your
experience here in the farm market, we’d like to hear more about that, but also your experience
of being in this community.
J: Yeah, I would say that people are very intentional about coming out to support the farmer’s
Market. There’s always the same faces that come out, rain or shine, and I feel that that’s something really special about this area.
K: The rain or shine, huh?
J: No, I do feel that people come out, even if it does rain. I think they watch the weather, but they’ll come out when it rains. And not all farmers market attendees do that, so that is special, and I do like that about here.
K: I see. And you are at other farmers markets, I take it. So you have some comparison.
J: I do!
K: And so people come out with intention, despite weather, anything else you could say about
the Rosendale farmers market and your unique experience here?
J: I don’t think anything too unique, but I think just farmers markets in general really
is a place to draw the community to one location, and you see it with people kind of making
it a point here because it becomes a social space, right?. So people are here to see their friends and catch up, and I think that’s really neat because I think people crave that, and they are longing for community and don’t always find spaces for that. And the farmers market lends itself to that, so that’s just a plug for farmers markets in general.
K: Yes, yes, yes, yes, Jocelyn. Do you want to say just a little bit about your business, perhaps, and what it is for you?
J: So my husband and I bought this property at the end of 2016 in Walden. We have 42 acres.
We had intended to sort of live off the farm and be farmers and be independent that way,
and sustainable with our own food. Currently, my husband’s there full time, so we have achieved half of that dream, but it kind of also realized that we can’t both be on the farm 100% of the time.
So my husband’s there, we grow vegetables, we raise chickens, we raise pigs and cows, all out on pasture, and every year we just grow a little bit more, and we become a little bit more sustainable in what we do, and we love feeding our community, we love feeding our neighbors, and just being a place where people can trust where their food comes from.
K: Is there a particular encounter, or story, or image, or something that happened to you
here in this context that is memorable or iconic for you?
J: Last week, a woman brought in her pet duck. She was holding it from the parking lot, and it followed… She put it down, and then it followed her and her family to the creek that’s right here. And they just spent the next hour hanging out in the creek with their pet duck, andI thought that was just amazing, because… It’s kind of like out of the norm, but it was a really sweet moment, so…
K: Perfect.
J: That was a beautiful memory.
K: Listen, Jocelyn, thank you so much for taking the moment here.
J: You’re very welcome.
K: And being part of Rosendale farmer’s market community.
