We did it! And we couldn’t have done it without all our local friends- but even more importantly, we couldn’t have done it without support from all over- from people who just happen to think local is better and local is worth supporting.
Did you see this blog? Sailors Small Farm
I don’t know about you, but knowing that someone on the West Coast of Canada is rooting for a local food store in West Virginia feels pretty special to us here at The Wild Ramp! Besides Canada, we’ve also had an outpouring of donations from all over the US- not just from here in our tri-state West Virginia/ Kentucky/ Ohio area, but also from North Carolina and Oregon. The eastern panhandle of WV and Alabama and Florida. And Illinois and Massachusetts. And Virginia. And many other places! Some of those people are our friends and family, and some of those people are just people who are inspired by what we’re doing, right here in downtown Huntington.
We wanted fresh local food, and we made it happen. We wanted our farmers to have a better place for them to sell their goods and we made it happen. We wanted to support and buy and produce local food, and we made it all happen.
The truth is, we hate asking for money. We didn’t want to ask for money until we proved we had a project worth supporting- a bricks and mortar place where people could shop, to see and feel and smell and taste and buy high quality farm products they just can’t get in big grocery stores. We launched The Wild Ramp with generous loans and donations from just a small group of community members, plus a lot of scrounging in garages and dumpster diving.
However, to make The Wild Ramp even better, we knew we needed a whole community behind us, and you have all stepped up! We can’t wait to start making The Wild Ramp an even better place to shop- I know I personally want to go order a new refrigerator tomorrow since ours was absolutely CRAMMED this week with farm eggs, Mission Savvy to-go meals, Laurel Valley Cheese, Spring Creek tofu goodies, fresh cider, Snowville milk, and locally bottled water. That doesn’t even include the WV fresh and smoked trout we sold out of in two days!
We’ve also been talking to a local producer of fresh pasta and fresh sauces- who wants to produce more of his product right here in Huntington! We loved his yummy sauces, but we had to tell him that we didn’t have room in our cooler and we’d get back to him after we knew about Kickstarter funds. I’m thrilled we will now be able to call him back and tell him that the community wants even more local food and we are now going to have room for his product in our NEW refrigerator!
The truth is, the more we get through this Kickstarter, the more we’ll be able to move ahead and do. We have big dreams. Dreams of a demonstration kitchen and classroom. Dreams of a portable handwashing station so we can start to do more tastings. Dreams of informational and artistic graphics in the store, so people can learn what seasonal means, and how to cook with the seasons. Dreams of actually having a marketing budget- so we can make signage and introduce The Wild Ramp to a broader audience- Facebook and the local press has given us a core base of customers and friends, but we’re surprised every day by people who have never heard of what we’re doing.
Everything we receive from this Kickstarter campaign will be invested in the ongoing improvements to the market. Thanks to the support of the community, The Wild Ramp is going to be even better- for YOU!
If you didn’t donate yet, it’s not too late- you still have a few days! There are lots of fun rewards- locally produced- that you can get only by donating to our Kickstarter project. In addition, you’ll know that you were a key part of The Wild Ramp community- helping The Wild Ramp become an even better community market!
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