Business notebook: Website connects customers to area organic farmers

A January drizzle didn't stop Sharla Green from making her weekly delivery Saturday as she, a local farmer and a customer turned one corner of Cup 'n' Cork into a de facto farmers market.

Green, with her husband, Lance, runs Cape Locally Grown -- an online ordering service that connects residents with local produce while the farmers markets are closed for the winter season.

Green said the website at cape.locallygrown.net, now in its third year of serving customers, is a small start in what she hopes will be a big change.

"It was about figuring out how we could help," she said. "It was mostly about addressing the food crisis, and that meant helping smaller producers."

She already was acquainted with local farmers through the markets, which she said are an important part of redefining how people see their food. Increasing access to organic produce is the first step in making a difference, she said,

"We're trained not to have relationships with our food," she said.

With food wrapped, spritzed and stickered in the supermarket, she said it's easier to forget where food comes from and why we eat it in the first place. Going local is about seeing food as nourishment instead of mere consumption, she said.

"These people are our friends," she said of the farmers with whom she works. "And when you know what's coming to you, the difference is amazing. The food is more satisfying, and it's good for you."

Barbara Smith, a customer, said she, too, has a passion for organic food.

"As a consumer, I go to these specific places, too, just to check it out so I know where it comes from," she said.

But not everyone has the opportunity for that level of involvement. That's where Cape Locally Grown steps in, making the process more convenient.

"There's an amazing amount of [local] resources and, if I can, I want to support that," Smith said.

Emily Scifers of Laughing Stalk Farmstead said her farm tried a delivery service, but Cape Locally Grown has made it much easier to sell kale, spinach and produce such as garlic and leeks they're still producing.

"It's awesome because once the farmers markets stop, it's hard to sell stuff," she said. "It's just so great to have that kind of an outlet as a grower in the winter."

She said there are only a handful of orders each week, but they're consistent: people such as Smith, who toted home a box full of fresh greens, bread and turnips.

"Here with the local producers, Emily picked it sometimes the morning we get it, instead of coming from China," she said. "It makes a big difference in what you're getting -- things like vitamin content."

Green said the community is growing slowly but surely -- like organic kale does in the offseason.

"This year, we're getting more people reaching out to us," she said. "We're just really passionate about food. Local, healthy, organic food."

Gibson Center gets accreditation

Substance-abuse treatment and recovery service provider Gibson Center Inc. received a three-year accreditation in detoxification/withdrawal support, outpatient treatment, residential treatment and community-employment services programs from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

It is the fourth consecutive three-year accreditation Gibson Center received from CARF.

Dynamite Coffee moves to new space

The Dynamite Coffee shop now is housed in a newly remodeled space at 1 N. Spanish St. It also has expanded hours of operation from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday.

Business licenses

• Marketing and social media company SEMO Trade & Sell filed a license to transition from a home-based company to a commercial location at 339 Broadway, Suite 138.
• Spring Communications Holding Inc. bought an AT&T authorized retail store at 3049 William St., Space 139. The store, previously owned by Red Skye Wireless, opened Aug. 1.
• K-Y Natural Creations LLC filed for a business license at 2256 Kingsway St.. The beauty salon was listed as opening Jan. 1.
• Sylvan Holtzman filed to open an electrical-supply wholesalers store at 2002 N. Kingshighway. Holt Electrical Supplies Inc. is scheduled to open April 1.
• Allen Dwayne Mills of Sikeston, Missouri, filed for a business license for Vivid Car Wash LLC. The self-service car wash is expected to open at 501 Themis St. on April 1.
• Bloom Studio & Gifts LLC has changed owners from Michaelyn Ross to Jocelyn Anderson. The retail home-decor and gift store is expected to open at 115 Broadway on April 1.
• Precision Insurance and Financial Services Inc. filed for a business license at 1650 N. Kingshighway, Suite 207. Owner David Burdin is listed as an insurance broker.
• Hinkebein Hills Farm at 439 Whispering Wind Lane in Cape Girardeau, owned by Karlios Hinkebein, filed for a business license for a food trailer/smoked meats/prepared-food business.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627