You can find a lot of things in downtown Shreveport- coffee, movies, shoes, men’s suits, visual art, live theater, services of all types- but the exception other than the few Saturdays of the Shreveport Farmers’ Market- has been fresh produce. Downtown is what has been known as a fresh produce desert. Time to cue the rain.
With the opening of Cotton St Farms at 406 Cotton Street, that designation has officially ended and we’re pretty happy about it. It used to be that farmers needed lots of acreage, good soil, fertilizer, water, and large, heavy and expensive equipment to turn a sizable, and hopefully profitable, crop. No more. Hydroponic farming creates an environment to grow crops without soil or sun, inside and away from the weather. At Cotton St. Farms, it will be done in a downtown building at the edge of the Central Business District.
Yep, it’s a farm.
Did we mention this farm-to-table goodness is available to walk in and buy, or to purchase for delivery via On the Go Delivery and soon, with WAITR? Until Cotton St Farms welcomes its first crop (in a couple of months), they will be selling produce from the Dixie Maze Farm grown the old-fashioned way. Your choices for purchase currently include: cantaloupes, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, purple hull peas, green bell pepper, peaches, tomato, watermelon, sweet corn, and fresh ground beef from the Cottonwood Cattle Company. This beef has been raised grassfed, free of antibiotics and growth hormones. If you’re someone who likes to feel your produce first, go by the Shreveport Farmers’ Market Saturdays from 7 am until noon to see all that Cotton St Farms has to offer.
Fresh produce will be available at 406 Cotton Monday-Friday from 11 am- 6 pm. Cash or credit cards will be accepted. You’ll enter the building from the alley, but DO NOT BLOCK the alley or you will be paid a visit by friendly Mr. Parking Ticket. There are several $.25 meter spaces within 10 feet, so use one of those. We’ll see you soon at Cotton St Farms!
