ABOUT CHRIS:

Chris Richmond is the Vendor & Market Specialist for the Alexandria Farmers Market on the Farm and Food Team at Louisiana Central. As the Vendor & Market Specialist, Chris’s responsibilities range from providing assistance to our vendors and potential vendors to supporting our market to ensure successful market days, data management, and community outreach. Growing up in Leesville, LA, Chris learned from an early age to appreciate the skills of a good hunting dog, the joy of fishing, and the value of being in the woods. As a true Louisianaian he has a fondness for food and has always had a large home garden where he specializes in spicy peppers, and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in addition to poultry. After careers in construction and deep water offshore operations, he opened his own business growing and selling gourmet mushrooms which provided him the opportunity to be at home to raise his two children. Artemis Gourmet Mushrooms quickly grew from a small local operation selling at farmers markets, to a statewide business supplying restaurants, stores, and direct to consumer sales. Chris is a graduate of the Louisiana Food Fellows program, a program provided by Louisiana Central’s Farm & Food program, in 2017; he learned about food systems policy and development and learned about the importance of intentionally developing a viable specialty crop industry in Louisiana in order to support food security. Chris has several hobbies, enjoys teaching classes on knife making, and supports programs for active duty military and veterans in partnership with the Chaplains office at Fort Johnson. He believes in being neighborly and kind, lending a hand to help folks with tree work, planting gardens, stocking freezers during hunting season, fencing, and just being a good listener when folks need someone to talk to. Chris is looking forward to serving small scale fruit and vegetable growers and helping them earn income from their gardens and small farms while also ensuring that the Tuesday Alexandria Farmers Market continues to grow and remains a reliable food hub for the region. He welcomes you to join him at the market, which takes place every Tuesday, year-round, from 3-6 pm at 2727 Jackson Street!