Old Farm Truck Market wasn’t supposed to be a business. A nurse by trade, Jean Price started simply enough, growing vegetables, which led to meeting others who did the same. Turns out all of them had excess produce. When her husband, Paul, bought an old 1940s truck and offered to trick it out for her, Price suddenly had a means of getting the fruits of their labor to the public.
Dubbing her business Old Farm Truck, she sold produce from the back of the vintage truck by parking it all around town: between Stevie’s and Farm & Home, in the field near Dredge, the Grace Church parking lot. “I started adding more stuff as I met other growers, like Junior from Ottoman,” Price says. “He’s got great soil and grows asparagus and these beautiful whopper tomatoes. I’ve been working with Junior since the beginning 17 years ago.”
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Jean Price (pictured right) attributes the success of Old Farm Truck Market to her talented, hard-working staff, including Lisa Faulkner (pictured left).
For a while, Old Farm Truck worked out of what is now Adrift, but in 2019, Price moved the business to its present location in downtown White Stone. That’s where the real expansion began, with Price buying produce from six farms within a 75-mile radius. “My goal was to help the small farms grow bigger, so we’d buy heavy from them, whether it was produce or whole animals,” she says. “So when you’re eating our kale salad, it’s kale from just down the road.”
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Because of the sprawling nature of the building, it was then that the business really began to evolve because having a kitchen meant that food preparation was also possible. “It felt like a natural progression with all of us taking on new roles, but it was also economic survival,” she says. “People began shopping with us for health reasons, because of dietary restrictions and to support the community.”
Price is devoted to a no-waste policy, which means everything that comes into the market is used in one way or another, including sending buckets of scraps to local egg farmers for feed. But that’s after the bulk of what’s on hand from the prior week is turned into something delicious and available for sale, usually in family-sized portions, in the market. Soup, quiche and pizza lend themselves to a variety of leftover ingredients and became staples.
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Last year’s renovations added a seating area and a pavilion to the existing market, with Old Farm Truck Market To-Go offering a menu of single-serving sandwiches, quiche and flatbreads made with the same delicious local and seasonal ingredients recycled from the market. “When we opened last August, I wanted a comfortable, laid-back vibe,” says Price. “Our menu changes weekly and we keep in mind vegetarians, vegans and gluten intolerance. We’re proud of the food we make because everyone is invested in the concept.”
Old Farm Truck Market To-Go employs four cooks, all of whom are cross trained to be able to take over for one another when necessary, as when one of the women had a baby last March. “They were all great home cooks or had done home catering, so they’re the type who see it, feel it, taste it when cooking,” she says. “It’s the young folks who are taking Old Farm Truck into the future with different ideas.”
The focaccia used for some of the sandwiches and flatbreads is made in-house using flour from Grapewood Farms, the same mill that provides grains for the James Beard Foundation award-winning Sub Rosa Bakery in Richmond.
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Old Farm truck partners directly with a close-knit group of farmers and producers, nearly all within 50 miles of White Stone, Virginia, who raise and grow food the way it should be done: with care for the land, the animals, and the people eating it. No shortcuts. No mystery ingredients.
The rotating menu is based on what needs recycling from the market, but daily it includes a meat sandwich and a vegetarian sandwich—both on focaccia—along with a third sandwich on Sub Rosa’s signature wheat bread; quiche; a market salad with homemade dressing and another with locally sourced protein; and focaccia flatbread with assorted toppings, cheese and sometimes bechamel or tomato sauce.
These prepared foods are available cold in the refrigerator case or heated in the warmer, depending on the customer’s preference. Pro tip: a sandwich of shitake mushrooms from Forest Mushroom Growers Association, a co-op in Mathews, layered with caramelized onion and fontina, Gruyere, cheddar and mozzarella cheeses on focaccia begs to be eaten warm. “It’s so hard to find great vegetarian choices around here,” a woman says, her eyes closing as she savors the flavor combination. “This sandwich is amazing!”
Customers can add a bag of local chips or one of the cold prepared sides such as kale salad with chickpeas, marinated carrot slaw or housemade hummus. “We’re considering adding desserts, but for now we have cookies and muffins,” Price says, adding that they’ve worked with some of the same home bakers since the beginning. “We’re still fine-tuning how much to make for any given day, so some days we run out and others we have extras.”
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Old Farm Truck Market To-Go has an ABC license with wine by the glass and single beers, as well as canned non-alcoholic cocktails such as Palomas, margaritas and Moscow mules. Cold brew, kombucha, green tea, lemonade and even canned Shirley Temples fill the drinks case. An off-premises license allows those who’d like to purchase a bottle or six-pack to do so, while occasional beer and wine tastings provide opportunities to discover a new favorite.
Sera Petras Photography
Sera Petras Photography
With a large selection of Virginia beers, customers are welcome to customize their own six-pack. Two dozen white, rosé and red wines are available. “We chose reasonably priced, tasty wines that go well with what’s on our menu,” says Price. “We want people to be able to sit outside and relax with something to eat and drink.”
Outside, the Barn Town Market and Pavilion space invites the community to linger for a while under the three large ceiling fans. The space, open on all sides, provides a dozen table and chair sets with four benches and bales of hay for those lower to the ground. Both the indoor seating area and the pavilion are available for rent. “This is a community space,” Price says. “We tell other merchants to send people over to eat. This is a space for all.”
Begun in May, the White Stone Street Market on the third Saturday of the month means the street is lined with farmers, food trucks, artisans and makers selling their handmade goods and food. “And on the first Friday of every month, the market is open with live music,” Price says. “We set up a big grill to serve Cow Patties—locally raised beef smash burgers—and Farm Dogs, which are locally made hot dogs wrapped in dough, pigs-in-a-blanket style.”
To no one’s surprise, these evenings have been popular with residents and visitors alike, much the way the market has become a regular stop for many when food shopping. “We have the nicest customer base. They’re the most loyal, kindest people who’ve supported us through every change,” Price says with both pride and delight. “Some have been with us so long that now their kids are customers.”
Over 17 years of doing business, Price continues to meet people focused on food, what they eat, how it sustains us, even sharing food and recipes. “My biggest takeaway from Old Farm Truck is that everyone—the farmers, the customers, the makers, my staff—understands the value of food,” she says. “That understanding brings together some wonderful people.”
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She has nothing but gratitude for her employees, growers and a supportive family. The feeling is reciprocated, as when a staffer shares, “We all feel valued here.”
Sera Petras Photography
As a result, Old Farm Truck is a workplace with no drama and everyone working together. “I’m blessed to have family who help me along the way because it would be incredibly stressful without them. Part of my job is making sure farmers’ needs are met so they can continue to grow,” she says. “There are so many moving parts. It’s fun, and very interesting, but it would be really hard without my people.”
Price remains a devoted gardener, having grown nearly everything at some point, from tomatoes to salad greens and garlic in her high tunnel greenhouse. Now, her schedule allows her to tend blueberries, figs, blackberries, and summer cherry tomatoes. “I do love the growing part,” she admits, “but someone had to take the helm.”
A job best left to a nurse who made food the focus while keeping everyone else’s needs in mind.
Discover the Old Farm Truck Quiche recipe here.
Old Farm Truck Market I 453 Rappahannock Drive, White Stone I 804-314-3648 | oldfarmtruckmarket.com I Find Old Farm Truck on Facebook and Instagram.
