After the accomplishment of our first veggie stand, we as interns were excited and prepared to go into the 2nd veggie stand. We prepared by creating a checklist and creating set tasks for our volunteers, specifically for set up and clean up. Set up went smoothly and without a scratch. Creating the checklist and mapping out the set up really helped everything become more efficient. For instance, instead of being scattered, we made sure to put the unweighted produce in a separate area to weigh it. Our volunteers (Eve and Emma) were of great help and we realized that the VIC stand does well with just a few volunteers depending on the stands activities. Although we do have an objective to get more community member volunteers!
Once the stand was set up and ready to open, we had a line of people waiting to start their pickings. At 5:30pm we opened the stall and people were especially excited to see the onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs. We noticed that kale and summer yellow squash are not as popular so we hope to provide more collards and less kale. Since the 2018 opening stand had a surplus of produce, LaFarm and the Urban Easton Farm decided to slow down on harvesting and supplied around 100 pounds less at the 2nd stand. This resulted in the produce going much faster. VIC hopes to increase the number of people who visit the stand, therefore we will be increasing the amount of produce to keep up with the demand.
VIC is happy with the 41 people who came to the #2 veggie stand, however, our goal is for 60-80 people to come. Therefore, we plan on contacting more community centers to engage more community members to visit the stand. VIC also hopes to draw more people to the stand by providing fresh fruit. The veggie stand hopes its interactive activities will draw people to the stand. At our 2nd veggie stand, Miranda (part of the VIC team), supplied and supported the activities of soccer, bubbles, and vegetable education. The children who came to the stand very much enjoyed running around with Miranda.