On Wednesday, July 31, LEAP celebrated a fabulous Grand Opening of the LEAP Community Store. Everyone from city council member Joe Cobb and community artist Katherine Devine (who painted the beautiful sign in the store) to LEAP market shoppers, farm share members, local farmers, and West End neighbors showed up to hear speakers share how they value LEAP's mission to create equitable food and farming systems and how the Community Store is an important resource for Roanoke shoppers and local food producers.

Thanks to Greenstar Farm and Apothecary and Sustainable Roanoke, who set up under tents to talk to folks and sell their top-quality products.

The highlight of the day was a gorgeous wreath of dried flowers made by Thornfield Farm's Susanna Thornton. In a "topping out" ceremony that marked the moment of dedication for the store, LEAP Program Director Kelly Key hung the wreath above the door.

She explained: "Hanging a pine bough from the top of a framed-out barn served a functional purpose as well [as a symbolic one]. When the pine needles fell off, the wood frame below had cured and so the builders would know they could enclose the building. Instead of a pine bough, we are going to hang a beautiful wreath.... This wreath will continue to hang in the store after today. My hope is that by the time the flowers become frail and fall apart and we have to take it down, that this store will have grown to become the resource for our community of farmers and eaters that it was built to be."

The LEAP Community Store is now officially open every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 12-7 pm. The store is located at 1027 Patterson Ave. and takes cash, credit, and SNAP/EBT. All customers with SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC receive 50 percent off their fruit and vegetable purchases.

Want to read and view what others have shared about the LEAP Community Store? Here's a sampling of the media coverage surrounding our Grand Opening:

• A news story from WDBJ7 and a segment on Here at Home
• A news story from WSLS
• A video from Edible Blue Ridge
• A blog post on The Roanoker magazine's website
• A Page 1 story in The Roanoke Times and a Roanoke Times video

Our hope is that the LEAP Community Store, alongside our two farmers markets and farm share, becomes a part of your weekly shopping routine, making it easier than ever to choose local food!