You’ve read the news. You know the facts. A former manager of the Wake Forest Farmers’ Market has been charged with felony embezzlement — accused of taking more than $6,500 from the nonprofit over nearly two years. The public record speaks for itself, and we reported it because our community deserves the truth.
But now I want to talk about something no arrest warrant can capture. I want to talk about the people who got up before sunrise on a Saturday morning — again and again — loaded their trucks, drove into town, set up their tables, and showed up for you.
The vendors of the Wake Forest Farmers’ Market are not a corporation. They are your neighbors. They are the families who grew what you ate, made what you bought, and poured their livelihoods into 235 S. Taylor Street every single Saturday. And here’s what too few people realize: this is a vendor-funded nonprofit. The market’s money is their money. What was allegedly taken wasn’t taken from some faceless institution — it was taken from them.
They didn’t ask for that. They don’t deserve that. And they shouldn’t have to carry it alone.
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Love Thy Neighbor — And Mean It
There’s an old instruction that doesn’t get simpler with age: Love thy neighbor as thyself. Not when it’s convenient. Not when it’s easy. Especially when it isn’t.
Right now, our neighbors need us to show up the way they’ve shown up for us.
This Saturday — and every Saturday that follows — I’m calling on every person in Wake Forest to get to that market. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring cash. Buy more than you planned. Try something you’ve never tried before. Talk to the people behind the tables and remind them that this community sees them.
Buy out the market.
Not out of pity. But as a declaration — that Wake Forest is the kind of place that rallies around its own. That a wrong done to one of us is a wrong done to all of us. That when someone tries to diminish this community, we respond by growing it.
Show Up Online, Too
Showing up isn’t just about Saturday morning. It’s about what you do the other six days of the week.
Follow the Wake Forest Farmers’ Market right now — on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram. Then share their posts. Share them again. Tag your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers. Send the link to your family group chat. Post about your Saturday haul and tell people where you got it. Be relentless. Every share, every tag, every “you have to check this out” conversation is another person who shows up at that market who might not have otherwise.
Word of mouth built this community long before social media existed. Use every tool you have.
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The Market Is Still Here. So Are We.
The Wake Forest Farmers’ Market has been a fixture of this town since 2009, and it is still standing — still open every Saturday, still stocked by the hands and hearts of the people who built it.
Let’s make sure those vendors feel that when they pull into that lot Saturday morning. Let’s make sure the line is long, and they sell out, and they go home knowing Wake Forest showed up for them the same way they’ve always shown up for us.
Find everything you need at wakeforestmarket.org — hours, vendors, what’s in season. The market is at 235 S. Taylor Street, behind Wake Forest Town Hall, every Saturday morning. Go. Spend. Share. Recruit everyone you know. Love your neighbor — out loud, in public, and with everything you’ve got.
Tom Baker IV is the publisher of Wake Forest Matters, Wake Forest's only independent local newsroom. A Wake Forest native, Navy veteran, and intelligence professional, Tom launched Wake Forest Matters to bring serious accountability journalism to his hometown. Tips and story ideas: publisher@wakeforestmatters.com
Thank you Tom. As a member and director of the market I applaud you for succinctly promoting our mission and recognizing our efforts. We strive to become an integral part of our community; to provide fresh farm produce and meat, handmade crafts, and other home made culinary creations. We are a producer only market. Resale of other products is not permitted. We love our customers and our town.
Thank you Tom. As a member and director of the market I applaud you for succinctly promoting our mission and recognizing our efforts. We strive to become an integral part of our community; to provide fresh farm produce and meat, handmade crafts, and other home made culinary creations. We are a producer only market. Resale of other products is not permitted. We love our customers and our town.