Business Times of Edmond, Oklahoma March 2020 - Page 8

Locally Grown Food, Fresh to Your Table,
Available Year-Round
BY TOM FINK | PHOTOS PROVIDED
L
ocal food is making a comeback
in downtown Edmond at Urban
Agrarian.
To find everything that you might
otherwise have to go to the farmers
market for, a trip downtown will reveal a
variety of beef, produce, dairy and more
— grown and sourced nearby.
“Urban Agrarian is a locally sourced
grocer,” began Chelsey Simpson, co-
owner. “We work with farmers all over
the state and buy from them directly.
We’ve been in business since 2008, so
we’re coming up on 12 years.
“Not only are we a grocer, because
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March 2020 | The Business Times
there are no other business like ours
in the state, but also we act as a local
food hub, which means, we’re also a
food distributor for local farms. We do
our own distribution,” she said. “We
pick up from farms directly in our own
refrigerated truck. We have a warehouse
in Oklahoma City, where we receive
deliveries.”
Founded by Simpson’s business
partner Matt Burch, Urban Agrarian’s
philosophy is to take the best aspects
of the modern, urban environment
— technology, design, and efficient
distribution — and combining these with
the best of classic agrarian techniques,
such as simplicity, sustainability,
biodiversity and resource allocation.
“When the business was founded,
there really weren’t many ways for local
farms and small food producers to sell to
restaurants and grocery stores and other
retail outlets,” she said. “Basically, the
only option available to them was to get
a little booth at a farmers market — and
that’s something of a weekly, seasonal
ordeal for only a few hours of being able
to sell their produce, or other products —
it’s extremely restricting.”
Initially, Burch started the business in