Common Grounds farm stand shuts down

Common Grounds, the volunteer farm stand in the Myers Park area that raised money for the Urban Ministry Center, is no more.

The market had stopped regular hours this summer and was reevaluating its mission. On Friday, the market team sent out an announcement that they were giving the logo, trademark and lists of vendors to the Urban Ministry Center.

“It is with a heaviness of heart (and fullness at the same time with gratitude to every one of you) that we came to the difficult decision to transfer the ownership of all of our intellectual property to the Urban Ministry Center.” The announcement suggested that the center could bring the farm stand back at some time in the future.

The group also announced that it would have a farewell event for the volunteers, customers and vendors from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 21 in the former Mecklenburg Furniture parking lot, 520 Providence Road, with a food truck lunch and activities. It also will have a table at True Blessings, the annual Urban Ministry Center fundraising lunch.

Common Grounds started out in 2009 and had several locations on the porches of commercial buildings near Providence and Queens roads, incluing Interiors Marketplace, Theis Mortgage and Mecklenburg Furniture. Mostly selling food from local farms and local crafts and baked goods, it raised more than $200,000 for the Urban Ministries Center. After losing the Theis Mortage location, the market took a hiatus with plans to redefine its mission and regroup next year.

To contact the organizers, email commongroundsfarmstand@gmail.com.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Common Grounds farm stand shuts down."