| Sarah Bush joined Three Rivers Market as the Produce Department Manager this October. For two decades Knoxville’s Community Food Co-op has been an anchor for Sarah in an ever-changing city: enhancing her life with high-quality provisions and nourishing food, a service opportunity on the Board of Directors (2009/2010), and a bright welcoming space to find familiar faces.
Sarah loved visiting East Tennessee from Nashville during childhood camping trips, and the Appalachian foothills led her to attend Maryville College and then to purchase a hilltop fixer-upper in South Knox. Working at Blackberry Farm inspired her to co-found a local Slow Food chapter promoting “Good, Clean and Fair” food for all that is still thriving 16 years later. Sarah soon began growing food for a living, gardening at Knoxville landmarks past and present like The Glowing Body, The Birdhouse, The Parlor on Chickamauga and the Bonnaroo Victory Garden which to this day educates festival attendees toward achieving food sovereignty.
In 2011 Sarah rented out her little house on the hill and embarked on a learning journey of farm apprenticeship and employment. She lived and farmed in the backcountry of Alaska, at the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Gardens and at New York’s oldest community farm and CSA program. Upon returning to the little house in South Knox during March 2020 Sarah was grateful to Three Rivers Market for reliably providing quality groceries and a place to see familiar faces while the world was on pause.
In 2021 she met farmer Tea Jay of the Vuck Farm who has been growing exquisite produce for Knoxville and Chattanooga patrons going on 13 years. Together they teach WWOOFers, interns and local folks homesteading skills and biodynamic farming methods, run a CSA 9 months of the year and hold monthly land-based events like crop mobs and farm dinners.
When Sarah’s little South Knox house was damaged by severe storms, Three Rivers Market yet again became a fixture in her life, this time as a source of stable income and a reason to be in the city to monitor home renovations. She is grateful for the opportunity to give back to the co-op that has provided so much for the Knoxville area community for over 40 years, and enjoys spending her days among smiling coworkers and supportive management as they implement cooperative values and community reciprocity within a retail setting. Sarah is excited to bring her love of vegetable farming to the position, to forge and strengthen relationships with local growers, and to lead a strong team who shares with co-op customers a culture of appreciation for the plants that nourish our bodies, the earth they spring from and all who play a role in getting the produce to our store. |
