The Searcy Farmer’s Market kicked off its summer season with various homemade and homegrown goods on Saturday April 18 on the courthouse square. There were some fresh faces among the vendors, including Nora Ford, Audrey and Hilary Roberts of Three Birds Bakery. The three girls, ranging from 11 to 15 years old, put together the business as a summer project. Mothers Gayle Roberts and Lisa Ford came up with the idea for their daughters.
“We were talking about summer vacation,” Lisa Ford said. “We just didn’t want the girls sitting around on their devices. We talked about how it would be good for them to work and it was just a lightbulb moment.”
Lisa Ford and Gayle Roberts had been shoppers at the Farmer’s Market previously. Lisa Ford said both women feel that the market greatly benefits the community because it is a place where local people connect and build relationships.
“We really have a heart for community and believe that the greatest connection that we need to have as Americans is in the public space,” Lisa Ford said.
The women met with their daughters with the suggestion of setting up at the Farmer’s Market and selling baked goods. The girls took hold of the project, deciding the name and a rough version of their logo. They are responsible for setting the menu and handling part of the baking each week.
Because the business is managed by the girls, Audrey Roberts said they monitor which items sell and which ones do not so they can adjust the menu for the following week. The girls manage the table and money at each Saturday morning market, and prepare their items for sale on Fridays.
“We start doing preparations on Thursday,” Nora Ford said. “We buy stuff then and think about what to sell. Friday is when we start baking. We try to do more stuff that night, like packaging, because we don’t want it to get old.”
The girls agreed that they enjoy the baking and testing of new recipes. In the first two weeks of the market, their best selling items included scones, muffins and mocha whoopie pies. If all goes well this summer, Nora Ford said she thinks they will continue the project.
Three Birds Bakery can be found at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon on the Searcy courthouse square.
