Thanks Perry, there's a lot to think about. For the next couple of seasons, until my garden beds get re-established, I'm probably going to just try growing enough extra to build a produce stand business locally. Land expansion isn't a problem, i have one 18 acre field that's shaped triangular with the 'long side' fronting the road. would make a very nice front garden site for passers by.
My Aunt lives pretty close and I think word of mouth would be excellent recommendation from her to her friends, her church group, etc. And for much of the year, she'll be feeding my 2 nieces who desperately need a more healthy diet in their lives. The cousin I spoke of is their mother and the best 'advertisement' in the world would be improving the health of her own children. Going from there, I'll see if it looks like enough interest in 'real' vegetables to start something like this (gardening basically on contract). A problem I see is that people barely have time to stop by the grocery store and toss something in their basket, rush home to cook it. If it's something out of a box and 'instant', so much the better. It's pretty hard for them to stare at an eggplant or sack of corn and realize the time requirements to turn it into table ready food. You can educate the public all you want, but basically, their food decisions come with how much time do they have to cook?
