West Tallahatchie residents appreciate the opening of the Farmacy Marketplace, a fully stocked market with produce, meats, canned goods and, for the asking, the manager Irene Sanders will order requested items not yet carried.
Located downtown Webb across from what used to be the old theater back in the day, the building has been renovated, the aisles are wide, there are no unstocked boxes blocking your path and there is pride of ownership and it shows.
Ms. Sanders is the mother of the owner, Marquitrice Mangham, who was not there on the day of my visit. Ms. Sanders got to tell me all the praises only a mother can tell.
Marquitrice is a 1995 graduate of West Tallahatchie High School and an eight-year veteran of the U.S. Army, where she served as a supply sergeant in the aviation unit. She chose the name Farmacy for her marketplace as a play on words, believing that wholesome foods, healthy eating, less chemicals and as much farm to table as possible is necessary to maintain good health.
Marquitrice says that everything she has done in life has been of service to the people, like a stepping stone working on her heart to bring good things home to her people.
Splitting her time between Atlanta, Georgia, and Tallahatchie County keeps her calendar filled with plans to use skills she has learned along her journey.
She has a heart to serve low-income and underserved individuals, helping them gain access to healthy food and safe housing.
With her ability to write grants, she has plans to renovate a total of 11 houses in Tallahatchie County, starting with one in Tippo, one in Tutwiler and one in Webb.
If that isn’t enough for this young lady, she farms 150 acres of her family-owned farm in soybeans.
She would like to be growing food for the table, but with her time in Atlanta she can’t keep an eye on crops, and soybeans seem to be less labor intensive. However, you can find her out in the field driving that combine come harvest time.
