Last weekend, Rudy’s Happy Patch Market again went mobile. The mobile market arrived in Buena Vista that morning, loaded with such summer delicacies as shucked Chase Corn and freshly shelled cream peas and butter beans.

Perry Wellness Center staffer and Marion County native Mulkey McMichael reported on the successful market: “The market started a bit slow. The morning was hot, and the busiest place was the ice house at the Chevron. But by 9:00 a.m., the customers began to arrive and emptied three of the four ice chests that had been brought to Buena Vista.”

One visitor to the Saturday market was Tazewell resident Sherry Fontaine. Along with her dog Bella, she stopped to shop for fresh vegetables. After Mrs. Fontaine and her husband Marshall served fresh peas the next day, Mulkey received a call from Marshall’s mother, Mrs. Ramona Fontaine.

“I am having the peas that they brought for Sunday lunch at their house,” she explained. “I have got to have two bushels!”

As Mulkey is a neighbor of the Fontaines, two bushels of fresh peas arrived the very next day.

We’re glad that our mobile markets not only promote awareness of Perry Wellness Center and mental health issues – they also help us appreciate good neighbors!

The next mobile market will visit Ellaville on Saturday, July 21.

In the photo below, Sherry Fontaine and Bella visit the Buena Vista mobile market to select fresh vegetables.