IVOR—Last Friday morning found Donna DeGroat busy setting up for the day at the Main Street Farmer’s Market in Ivor. She had already loaded one table with watermelons, tomatoes, cantaloupes, zucchini, squash, peppers, onions, eggplants, cucumbers and beets. Nearby, Kathryn Dallabrida and vendor Cameron Stewart loaded a couple of trays with cookies and brownies. Another table across from their set up was crowded with handcrafted items of stationery, scarves and birdhouses among other items.

All this is the result of a year’s work by DeGroat and company to provide for her community and even beyond. With a proverbial little help from her friends, neighbors and farmers, she established the market, which is celebrating its first anniversary.

“We have plenty in Ivor,” DeGroat said that morning. “Everything is fresh from farm to table.”

She draws from over 19 local growers for her shop, which is next to the Ivor Veterinary Clinic and across from the Ivor Volunteer Fire Department. When DeGroat began, she operated from a canopy next to the building the business occupies now.

“Charlie Clark, the owner, has been very generous,” she said about his making the site available. “We’re just blessed because of him.”

The market operates year-round and provides whatever’s in season.

It’s been a struggle, DeGroat said on reflection, but added with plenty of laughter, “We’re three determined women.”

Their stick-to-it-iveness has obviously paid off not only for them, but also residents in the community.

“We feed Ivor,” she said, but also added customers have been coming in from Courtland and Franklin as well. Bikers and cyclists will also drop by in their travels.

The market sells more than just produce and baked goods such as apple jacks or doughnuts. From time to time there’s fish such as croaker and spot. Local brown eggs are also sought. Weather permitting, candy will also be made and sold. The first Saturday of each month features barbecue and brine chicken cooked in custom pits.

As mentioned earlier, there are also crafts for sale, such as honey and goat’s milk soap.

A community yard sale is scheduled for Saturday, July 12, and will also include a master gardener to advise people on cultivating their own gardens.

“We want local talent,” said DeGroat about people such as Svetlana Helvestine and Sara Hemmebe, who have also sold their products.

The market is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call DeGroat at 377-2412.