CLINTON — People might want to consider a trip to The Dirty Farmers Community Market in downtown Clinton, especially if they like getting hugs. Sean and Jackie Sikes, market co-owners and spouses, enfold customers and volunteers alike.
“In order to be emotionally healthy, you need seven to eight hugs each day,” Jackie said, “so if you come into the market, you’ll get your quota.”
From the responses of Clinton City Council members, customers and friends, this friendliness is not an exaggeration. The Sikeses have created a community center for affordable home-style food, local produce and handcrafted items.
Not your ordinary Clinton area business, The Dirty Farmers Community Market is a nonprofit organization focused on helping farmers and artists support economic growth and even address food security in the Clinton area. Backed by the Clinton Business and Revitalization Association, the group’s board includes Kitty Murdock, the owner of the building that houses the Dirty Farmers Community Market, Sean said.
City Council member Gayla Bradley thinks highly of what the Sikeses are doing.
“They have a very positive effort and have been very
helpful to the community,” Bradley said. “You can get fresh produce, and they offer a nice lunch each day. Plus, they’re so energetic. I don’t see how they do all the things they do.”
The building, at 364 Main St. in downtown Clinton, is the newest location of The Dirty Farmers Community Market, which started at another site closer to U.S. 65. When a truck accidentally plowed into the former location two years ago, operations were halted only for a couple of months, thanks to volunteer help.
“You couldn’t believe the people who showed up with trucks. They loaded and unloaded us in just two days,” Jackie said.
Volunteer Catherine Miles said she understands why the Sikeses receive so much support.
“They put so much into the community,” Miles said. “They work so hard for everybody, and they expect nothing in return.”
Besides helping the farmers, the opening of the market has increased residents’ access to fresh local produce.
“A lot of small farmers bring their produce here to sell, where people can buy it. We don’t have to go to the grocery store,” Miles said.
Customer Judy Ann Wells has been inspired by The Dirty Farmers Community Market to become a produce vendor.
“I’m willing to pay a little bit more because I know what goes into the production of organic produce,” she said.
She hopes to have homegrown heirloom tomatoes, kale, cucumbers, squash and jellies to sell at the market this season. And her inspiration from the community market is a driving force, Wells said.
“The Dirty Farmers Community Market is an outlet not only to sell produce or crafts, but also for individuals who are interested in improving the strength of our community,” she said.
Jackie said she discovered the seeds of the couple’s current brainchild during her treks across the U.S. while still the wife of a trucking-company owner.
“I always liked the mom-and-pop places, and the farmers markets, but I also wanted something cozy, where everyone could gather,” she said. “When you combine the elements as we have, you have a community market. These various parts are the keys to our success.”
Then after they got married, Sean and Jackie came up with the farmers-market idea based on Jackie’s experiences while campaigning to become a justice of the peace. In the process, they heard from local farmers about their need for a method to sell their produce more than once a week.
It took the couple a year of research to found the nonprofit enterprise, including finding a building and figuring out what they wanted to do and how to do it. Sean came up with the curious name for the enterprise.
“No matter what type of farming you do, you’re going to get dirty, and although some may take offense, most people get a chuckle out of it. Even the IRS says that’s not a name they’ll forget,” he said.
“After the market started coming together, we started adding the crafters,” Jackie said.
The addition of a cafe was not anticipated.
“Sean and I were at the market all day, so I started preparing lunch for him there. Then I started cooking for the volunteers, and the customers who came in wanted lunch, too. So Sean said, ‘You just need to cook for everybody.’”
And that’s what Jackie did, bolstered by the concept of a unique formula.
The Greater Good Cafe, located inside The Dirty Farmers Community Market, is based on a model promoted by musician Jon Bon Jovi, whose One World Everybody Eats concept offers affordable fresh food using a pay-it-forward model. Some patrons pay more than the regular price in order to cover the cost of customers who can’t afford the total amount. The collective till then provides the monetary basis to continue running the cafe, Jackie said.
Another goal of The Dirty Farmers Community Market is to provide free or low-cost education on healthy living and nutrition. Along those lines, the market offers regular community workshops taught by Jackie or by friend and longtime herbalist Elle D’Coda. Past workshops have included canning, cold and flu remedies, reading and healthy snacks for kids, and more. Future topics will include herbal first aid in May, and in June, using herbs to lose weight and making fermented beverages.
What’s next for The Dirty Farmers Community Market?
“We’re applying for a [U.S. Department of Agriculture] grant that will provide funding for more refrigeration and to secure more value-added products,” Jackie said. And the couple are also working on a grant to become an Arkansas-Grown store, which will help their visibility and income levels. ArkansasGrown is a brand name of the Arkansas Agricultural Department to help potential buyers locate Arkansas products.
As to the profitability of the restaurant, “If the cafe continues to hold its own, by next year, we’ll be able to hire someone else to help cook and do dishes, but we don’t need much,” Jackie said.
“We have each other,” Sean said.
“It’s not about the money. It’s more important to spend time with each other,” Jackie said.
“They are developing community character,” Wells said. “They give me hope.”
The permanent market is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and the cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, at 364 Main St. in downtown Clinton. In addition, the seasonal farmers market, run by The Dirty Farmer’s Community Market, is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday, April through November, at the Clinton City Park off U.S. 65.