I love the chance at the start of each year to stand between the past and the future. To look back at what we accomplished, and ahead to all we hope to do in 2022.

If I’m totally honest, 2021 came with its share of challenges. Like all small businesses, we wrestled with continued economic and pandemic-related uncertainty. Would our college, restaurant, and school customers return to normal? Would the severe truck driver shortage impact our ability to receive deliveries? What would Thanksgiving demand look like? Would prices for turkey feed continue to rise?

I also had assumed a new turkey product would be one of our 2021 highlights, but very soon after we excitedly launched our Sliced Smoked Turkey Breast, our processor informed us they were too short-staffed to continue making it. We had a similarly abrupt end to a popular turkey burger we made almost exclusively for schools. It was a tough year for meat processors and these tales capture well the challenges food makers faced in 2021.

But it wasn’t all so tough. We got back to in-person events at Ferndale Market, and added a lot of new local foods and partners to our mix. We enhanced our options for shipping to your doorstep, and for curbside pick-up here at the market. On the farm, we didn’t stop looking ahead; we replaced our front range fence (hopefully no more turkeys on the road!), added more range feeders, and expanded our outdoor yards at a couple of our partner farms.

In that same spirit of looking ahead and re-investing in what we do best, we’d love to hear from you! What would you like to see us add at Ferndale Market? What’s missing from our shelves and coolers? Any turkey products you wish we made? As we start 2022, I’m thrilled to introduce our new Retail Manager, Lauren.  She’s excited to meet our customers and would love to hear from you in the meantime with any suggestions or ideas. She’s at [email protected].

We’ll look forward to seeing you at Ferndale Market in 2022, and thank you for doing your part to make it a good year for local, independent farmers and food makers!