Despite ominous clouds and a light sprinkle of rain, a group of volunteers stationed themselves on South Salina Street on Saturday, prepared to sell fresh produce and wholesome food to Syracuse residents.

A folding table filled with oranges, grapes, lettuce and plenty of Goya products was the centerpiece for the Market for a Day stand, which was hosted by the Eat to Live Food Cooperative.

The Eat to Live Food Co-op acted as a grocery store within the Southside of Syracuse, allowing members of the community to find fresh produce, dairy and baked goods at a reasonable price, said Howie Hawkins, secretary of the board of the Eat to Live Food Co-op.  In December of 2013, the co-op was forced to close due to a lack of working capital, just two months after it first opened its doors.

The Market for a Day stand is being used as a marketing tool.  The market is letting the community know that the co-op is still here and it’s generating interest so that once Eat to Live reopens there will be consistent patronage, said Brandi Woolridge, a volunteer and a former employee at the co-op.

The market, which was set up at 2323 S. Salina St. in front of the empty Eat to Live building, is in the middle of a U.S. Department of Agriculture certified food desert, Hawkins said.

According to the USDA website, a food desert is a low-income community where at least one third of the population lives more than a mile away from a supermarket or a large grocery store.

“The co-op provided the basic foods that people need everyday,” Hawkins said.

One of the main goals of the Market for a Day is to offer community members the choices necessary to have a balanced diet, Woolridge said.

“The corner stores and fast-food restaurants just offer a whole lot of processed stuff,” said Woolridge, who lives in the Southside of Syracuse.  “But with the co-op and the market, we are also offering whole foods for the community.”

Every week, customers at the stand ask questions about the co-op and when it might reopen, said Rachielle Scrivens, a volunteer who has worked at every Market for a Day since it started in August.

As word gets out, customers are becoming more excited and more people are showing up each week, she added.

On Saturday, shifts of volunteers came in every couple of hours to help run the stand, including members of the Syracuse University community.

Members of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity came in three different groups to help with the Market for a Day, said Leroy Antoine, a senior civil engineering major at SU.

“Our fraternity saw this as an opportunity to give back to the community and help those on the Southside,” Antoine said.

Padraic Kane, a brother of the fraternity and a senior exercise science major, said he noticed people were happy to walk up to the stand to talk and buy the produce.

“It is a nice thing to have in the community,” he added.

The Eat to Live board members have put together a business plan and financial package and are talking to lenders, Hawkins said.  The board is optimistic about reopening, he added.

“When we are ready to reopen, the public will be the first to know, but we are not going to put a date on it because it is contingent on too many things,” Hawkins said.

Right now, the co-op is happy to be hosting the Market for a Day stand, he said.

The Market for a Day is expected to continue up until Sept. 13, Hawkins said.  After that, the board will continue to focus on reopening the co-op, he added.

At the end of the day on Saturday, Hawkins said the event went well.

“There is less stuff here than when it started in the morning, which is a good sign,” he said.

Published on September 8, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Kate: kacapoda@syr.edu