If you've managed to wake up early on a Saturday morning and wander down Main Street, you've probably come across the Soda City Market.
Every weekend out of the year, this farmers market brings together over 50 vendors from all over the Midlands to sell their products. You can find almost anything there, with everything from soaps to hats to eggplants.
The Soda City Market proudly encourages sustainable goods and practices with their local vendors and customers. Shopping doesn’t have to be limited to a grocery store when there's a local farmers market just a short walk from campus.
City Roots
City Roots, a local urban farm, supports the sustainable community by utilizing organically rooted farming methods.
“Our produce is certified organic, which holds a lot of meaning behind it,” said Robbie McClam, owner and founder of City Roots.
City Roots nourishes their soil by using crop rotation techniques and composting on site. Aside from recycling everything, the farm has sustainable, energy efficient building.
Trail Ridge Farm & Dairy
Trail Ridge Farm & Dairy, owned and operated by the Hammond family, is well-known in Columbia for goat cheese. They operate a sustainable farm by utilizing all that nature has to offer them.
Every animal on the farm contributes to the farm in more than one way. The goats, chickens and horses that live on the farm help create fertilizer and compost used in growing the farm’s crops as well as to provide things like milk for cheese and eggs.
Shady Grove Farm
Brian Long, owner and operator of Shady Grove Farm, started this farm to provide a diverse diet for his family, and he sells any surplus at the market as a contribution to the community.
Long operates his farm with renewable practices. He doesn't use any chemical fertilizer, and he makes his own homemade biochar, a nutritional charcoal made from organic materials that can be used as a plant fertilizer. The farm also raises chickens and quail.
“All aspects of the quail are used,” Long said. “Nothing goes to waste.”
Artisan Tees
Andy Natusch, owner and founder of Artisan Tees, travels to the Soda City Market every Saturday from Charleston, where the company is based.
Natusch operates sustainably by using eco-friendly ink and minimizing transportation pollution by printing the shirts locally. Natusch hopes to return to using organic fibers in his T-shirts soon.
Low Country Olive Oil
Jason Benjamin and his wife Laurie operate Low Country Olive Oil in Charleston. Benjamin brings some of his products to the Soda City Market for customers to buy and sample every Saturday. Low Country Olive Oil stays eco-friendly by following sustainable practices in their shop, as well as encouraging customers to recycle the bottles and paper bags products come in.
“We are getting ready to make the transition to Charleston’s green business program at the beginning of the year,” said Benjamin.
Full Feather Threads
Caleigh Bird is the creator of 'upcycled' and refashioned goods for her company, Full Feather Threads. All her crafts are made from repurposed materials that she modifies by hand.
“I remake them — remake them fabulous," Bird said.
She also makes sock monsters — but not from old socks — for her other company, Sock Monster Posse. Both shops can be found at the Soda City Market on Saturdays.
Inglenook Soaps & Co
Amy Moore is the owner of Inglenook Soaps & Co from Campobello. They provide sustainably made soaps to the community at the farmers market every weekend.
Inglenook sells a variation of seven different plant-based soaps. Everything is done on their farm in Campobello and made in their home. Moore first began making soaps for the market in February 2014.
January Remingtonn
Paulette Remingtonn sells her handmade hats and candles at the Soda City market and operates sustainably by reusing materials for her hats and selling recycled candle jars in her shop.
Everything is handsewn and made in Columbia. Her daughter, Elizabeth Remingtonn, assists her at the Saturday morning market. Elizabeth hopes to open a fashion truck one day and sell used clothing around Columbia.