Instead of buying canned corn and produce from the supermarket, residents will soon get an opportunity to pick fresh fruits and vegetables right from the ground and bring them home.
Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market broke ground last month on a 9,800-square-foot, barn-style building located at 12033 State Road 7 in Boynton Beach, three miles north of Atlantic Avenue.
Owner Steve Bedner is a fourth-generation farmer whose goal is to bring something new to the area by being the only place where residents can pick their own produce straight from the farm into their hands.
“Our saying is from the farm to the fork,” he said.
The new market is set for completion in January and will house a retail store dedicated to offering fresh locally grown produce direct to the community.
Jim Forinella, a Boynton Beach resident, said fresh produce has been just what he was looking for and that he didn’t want to buy lettuce and carrots that could be days old from his regular store.
“My wife and I just had a baby girl earlier this year,” he said. “It makes you think about what you put in your mouth and what we will put in hers.”
In addition to the retail space, there are plans for a large field behind the market where customers, tour groups and field trips can pick strawberries and tomatoes. That field is set to open in December, before the building.
“We really just want to educate the community on were their produce comes from instead of just getting it from a local chain store,” he said.
Bedner said with prices, it is too far out to predict but that they will be reasonable to other markets that sell similar items.
“There is just no where else that you can pick your own items right off the farm and buy them,” Bedner said.
Read more about this story in the Oct. 28 issue of the Boynton Forum.
For information, visit www.bedners.com.
Mike Rothman can be reached at mkrothman@tribune.com.