Myakka Co-op kicks off its third season

When Bri Ricke tried making jam for the first time, it took seven pounds of strawberries to make one jar worth keeping. 

Now, her peach bourbon jam is a best seller at the Myakka Co-op, held on the first Saturday of the month in the parking lot of the Silver Star East restaurant. 

“Folks come and tell me, ‘I eat it (right in the pantry) like Nutella,’” Ricke said. 

Customers also use the peach bourbon jam as an ice cream topping, but it won’t get you drunk. The alcohol cooks off, and only the flavor remains. Ricke sells a Fireball whiskey apple jam, too, along with sugar scrubs and lip balms. 

In keeping with the theme of a country market, Ricke uses locally grown lychees in her scrubs and buys the beeswax for her lip balms from an apiary off State Road 64. 

“This is our third year. Out here, people in Myakka City need someplace to be able to sell their stuff,” Co-founder Carol Rubadou said. “We support six sanctuaries and animal adoption centers. We also collect food for food banks at three churches.”

The vendors are artisans, selling their own creations, from earrings and tie dyed T-shirts to dill pickle-flavored boiled peanuts. 

If you try to crack the peanut shell in your hands, Kay Ross will correct you, “You’ve got to suck the juice out.”

Good advice to get more of the dill flavor, and Ross doesn’t even make the peanuts. Carol “Peanut Lady” Drawdy pulls up her truck, and the two friends share an umbrella. Ross sells homemade cookies and bars, and Drawdy sells three flavors of boiled peanuts. 

On Sept. 2, Ross was clad in a tie dyed T-shirt bought from the stand next door, K & T Designs. Co-owner Terri Robinson is a fan of Ross’ work, too, especially her chocolate chip cookies. 

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, shopping locally has been of particular importance to Americans across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Oak Ford resident Carol Masio stopped by the co-op before heading to another local market at Dakin Dairy Farms. She bought a tie dye T-shirt, a jar of peach bourbon jam and a lavender scrub.

“We also support the animal sanctuary,” Masio said. “This community needs it, and we need more of this.”