New Year Resolution

It is hard to believe we are at the end of January already. One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2010 was to start blogging for Norman’s Farm Market, so here it goes...

In 1987 I began what has amassed to a career in selling local fruits and vegetables along the roadsides of Montgomery County, Maryland. In the early 1990’s, my two brothers and I developed the name Norman’s Farm Markets. Along with a small army of of talented high school and college students seeking summer jobs, and a fleet of a few of the ugliest used pick-up trucks ever assembled, my brothers and I opened and operated as many as ten produce stands on a daily basis. Over the next twenty years we continued to forge relationships with many local farmers, customers, local food enthusiasts, and colleagues. We opened and closed a gourmet market in Bethesda; a garden center and country store in Reston, Virginia, and farm markets in Potomac and Olney. The current state of Norman’s Farm Market, however is a streamlined family owned and operated business running two roadside stands in Chevy Chase and Bethesda as well as a rapidly growing CSA, (community supported agriculture) Program. In 2001 I met my wife, Eris, who along with my brother, Jeff, and myself are the principals and operators of Norman’s Farm Market. We are dedicated to supporting local farmers and are extremely proud of the network of farms that we have established.

My goal for this blog is to create a journal of a small family owned business, the opportunities and obstacles we encounter, the faces we meet, and the relationships we develop. I would like to do this from farm planning and seed ordering, through the operations of our stands and CSA pickups, to the meals that grace my family’s table. To take our readers on tours of area farms as well as organizations such as DC Central Kitchen, A Wider Circle, and Bread For The City with whom we work with to create channels to supply local food for the less fortunate. Lastly, I would like this blog to provide a vehicle to explore the opportunities and challenges which face today’s small family farms, area restaurants and markets, and consumers when it comes to paving the way and offering solutions for bridging the gap of farm to table.

-John Norman