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Fairfield Church’s Market Continues To Grow
In the five years since it started, Fairfield Presbyterian Church’s Helping Hands drive-by market has “grown tremendously,” Rev. Helen “Punker” Robertson told The News-Gazette last Friday.
“We started with a little canopy [tent] out front,” she said. “The goal was just to get fresh fruits and vegetables and help with the nutrition of people who needed it.”
The Friday morning market started in 2019 and was initially conceived as a summer market. During the Covid pandemic the following year, the market began operating year-round. Since May of 2020, the market has only missed one week and that was due to the driveway into the church parking lot being “pure ice.”
In that time, the market has grown from one tent to two, and then to a pavilion that was built at the church. Several local churches and organizations have donated food and time to the market over the years, including the Rockbridge Area Relief Association and Washington and Lee University’s Campus Kitchen. The Rockbridge Area Relief Association sends a truck of food once a month, and Campus Kitchen provides meals whenever classes are in session at the university.
When it began, the market averaged around 20 customers each week. That number has grown to an average of 30, with the number being higher on weeks when the RARA truck comes. In addition to donations, Robertson and her husband Robbie will spend between $250 and $350 each week at Food Lion on food for the market.
The market has also expanded in its offerings. They still offer fresh produce, but they also have canned food and baked goods, as well as having a selection of donated clothes for people who may need them, dog and cat food for pets and, at Christmas time, an array of donated toys for potential Christmas gifts.
New to the offerings this year is venison donated through Hunters For The Hungry, which strives to get meat to hungry families throughout Virginia. The meat was processed locally by Cattleman’s Market in Lexington.
“It’s very gratifying to see the community come together to help those who need extra help,” Robertson said. “I never envisioned it would be this big at this point … It’s a joy.
The market, which operates from 10 a.m. to noon on Fridays, will be open this week and will have $25 gift cards and gas cards available for people, said Robertson.
A donation box is set up outside the church for anyone interested in making donations.
