Ethically Sourced, Locally Sold.

As the afternoon of September 10 in Yorktown, Indiana draws to a close, the evening sun paints an amber hue that dances across dozens of booths displaying everything from vegetables to honey to small handmade crafts. Community members mill around, intent on finding the next local treasure. And it’s here -- nestled at one table lies a cargo that has traversed oceans and a majority of the country to get here.

The city of Yorktown provides space in Morrow's Meadow for local vendors to set up shop on Fridays.

[At one table,] the names of faraway places in bold, white text stand in stark contrast to the dark coffee beans inside. Roasted and ground locally, these beans originated from places such as Indonesia, Columbia, and Tanzania. Paige Bush, the founder of Bush Creek Coffee Co., beams as she explains that every bag has a story.

Paige Bush, founder of Bush Creek Coffee Co., roasts beans locally.

The Columbian coffee at Bush’s booth is grown by local farmers so that the profits stay in the developing country’s community.

The Indonesian variety supports a growing operation run entirely by women in a country that ranks at 121 out of 162 on the United Nations Gender Inequality Index.

Bush started Bush Creek Coffee Co. three years ago and has been working on getting ethically sourced coffee into the hands of her local community.

Café Femenino is the program that Bush works with directly to ensure the ethicality of her sourced beans. Café Femenino is committed to ending poverty that impacts women coffee farmers globally by compensating them directly.

When Bush’s daughter went off to college, Bush found herself with unexpected downtime so she founded Bush Creek Coffee Co. In her new business venture, she found that people can connect through coffee. Bush, herself, has created international, interpersonal relationships through her business.

“Coffee connects us to another part of the world with every sip.”

In the future, Bush hopes to connect with the parts of the world where her beans are grown. She has not yet had the opportunity to travel since starting her business in 2019 due to the ongoing pandemic.

Bush is working to connect her two worlds by bridging Indonesia and Yorktown together through the Bush Creek Coffee Co. by displaying her Bali Blue roast at the market. Bush connects with her community, develops relationships, and even grinds coffee beans in front of her patrons.

Bush offers to grind her Bali Blue roast at her booth as an option for customers.

Yorktown Farmers Market has been ranked the 42nd Farmers Market in the Nation according to American Farmland Trust. This is not only because the market allows local vendors to sell their products, but also because it provides opportunities for others in the community. Live music, food trucks, and car shows are regular occurrences on Friday evenings.

A Blanch Family farmer completes a transaction at his booth.

The Yorktown Farmers Market is the perfect venue for local sellers, like Bush, to connect with their communities. Readers interested in seeing Bush Creek Coffee Co. and other local businesses at the Yorktown Farmers Market can still visit on Friday, September 24, and Friday, October 1 before it closes for the season.

As musicians provide the ambiance to the market, members of the public freely walk the grasses of Walnut Grove.

If you are interested in voting for Yorktown Farmers Market as America’s Favorite Farmers Market you can follow the link here:

https://markets.farmland.org/market/yorktown-farmers-marketplace/?fbclid=IwAR1hI1dWaKfLjJ_jhXHaZt7igpenobDgDnEDocvMMBUyIoIFG0sIAdt_7aI