FOOD
Nourishing The Farmacy, an Athens-based natural foods store, strives to cultivate a local network of business and provide quality foods and supplements for different diets. BY ABIGAIL MULLIGAN | PHOTOS BY JACOB DURBIN
Medicinal spices available at The Farmacy.
T
he Farmacy offers solace from the Appalachian winter. Fresh baklava greets customers at the front door and soft folk music plays in the background, making it easy for patrons to get lost in its atmosphere. Scents of nutmeg and clove pull customers into a room stocked with over 200 different herbs and spices. A nostalgic sense of tranquility looms over The Farmacy, transporting customers to a simpler time. The classic wooden fixtures, herbed aromas and hand-written signs are rare among most modern-day health stores. “It’s a healing store,” Farmacy owner Kevin Tidd says as Carrie—his spouse and Farmacy co-owner—nods in agreement. “It’s way more than an item on a shelf.” Carrie floats throughout the store, helping customers find various products and providing recommendations while Kevin acknowledges the range of meaning that The Farmacy has for the community. The Farmacy acts as a place of refuge and empowerment for people who need it, and Kevin wants to challenge consumers to make more ethical purchasing decisions and to rethink what being healthy looks like. The first of its kind in the region, The Farmacy was founded about 1970 by Athens native Barry Wolfe, who was later joined by his partner, Donna. A few years later, Sue and Tom Zano started working with them and eventually bought the store. She sold it to Carrie and Kevin in 2011, and they, along
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backdrop | Spring 2020
with their children, have been focused on providing natural products and nutritional education for the well-being of Appalachia ever since. Buying the store was not the first run-in that the Tidds had with The Farmacy. Both Kevin and Carrie are West Virginia natives and worked together at Mother Earth Foods, a natural foods store in their home state. Kevin spent several years delivering different wholesale items to The Farmacy. Kevin says his connection to health food was a result of health complications early in his life, but “it really came from the idea of just wanting real food.” The Tidds’ passion for providing sustainable, healthy options is fueled by their idea that food is medicine. To them, it is fascinating how different discoveries are being made about food and the interconnectedness of human life and the Earth. Located less than a mile from Ohio University’s campus, The Farmacy serves a unique population of college students and local residents. The Tidds appreciate the mix of patrons as well as the diverse landscape in the surrounding area. The Farmacy partners with other local businesses throughout Athens to provide fresh ingredients, but Tidd admits that on some levels it is impossible to be 100% local and sustainable. Particularly during the winter months, local products become increasingly hard to
