Produce with Promise The HTH Farm Market benefits Central Ohioans with substance use disorders
By Linda Lee Baird Photography by Rachel Joy Barehl
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ummer is the season of farmers markets. Almost any day of the week, all across town, you can find an abundance of fresh produce so delicious that you’ll be happy to live in the heartland where it’s grown. Though all of these markets both support farmers and stock our kitchens, the HTH Farm Market in Linworth goes even further, with proceeds benefiting a 24-month residential substance abuse program called Hope Thru Housing. While farmers markets have a reputation as summer events, HTH Farm Market actually got its start in the winter as a Christmas tree farm, when Hope Thru Housing founder and President Dennis Kerr happened to drive by a tree lot on Route 161. Interested in a business that could provide revenue for the nonprofit and job opportunities for Hope Thru Housing residents, Kerr pulled in to talk to the owner and found him ready and willing to turn over the lease of the business. Thrilled by the success of the first season, and undeterred when the tree lot was sold to make way for a new apartment complex, Kerr had the opportunity in 2012 to move to a permanent location across the street. He built the business from the ground up—literally. Through the job training program Hope Thru Housing offers its residents, members
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of the program constructed the market from foundation to rooftop. Today, HTH Farm Market operates nine months out of the year, beginning with early spring produce in April and culminating in the popular winter Christmas tree sale. Though the heavily trafficked location is helpful in bringing shoppers into HTH Farm Market, it’s the quality of product that keeps them coming back. “Produce is what really pulls people in,” Kerr said. In early spring, Kerr sells fresh tomatoes from Florida and Tennessee until the ones on local vines are ripe and ready. Once Ohio hits peak season, the market will be stocked with fruits, vegetables and greens grown in the state, as well as locally produced baked goods and pantry staples such as pasta and olive oil. To get the freshest possible items on shelves, Kerr partners with farmers in Ohio’s Amish Country. “Most of the produce comes in on horse and wagon,” he said, adding that HTH Farm Market shoppers will often find produce “picked that morning.” At the height of the season, Kerr will drive to
