Chef and farmers will match every customer purchase on Market Wagon during holidays with donation to area homeless shelters and food bank. 

In a holiday season filled with generosity, Birmingham-area businesses and farm operations are giving the freshest gift of all. Central City Urban Farm, located in the heart of Birmingham, pledges to provide a 100% match to all customer sales on Market Wagon from now until midnight on Dec. 19. Lake Majestik Farms, a family cattle operation in Flat Rock, is donating 1 pound of ground beef for every pound of ground beef sold also through Dec. 19. Tamale Queen, located in Fultondale, is donating one tamale bake (which serves four people) for every five tamale bakes purchased by customers through Dec. 26.

Market Wagon is an online farmers market which delivers LOCAL food to a 10-county region which includes Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and the surrounding area. The service allows customers to browse locally grown products on their computer or smartphone throughout the week and place an order from multiple local vendors with one single checkout. Customers can get everything they would expect to find at a physical farmers market hand-delivered to their front door—farm-fresh eggs, cheese, meat, produce, baked goods, and more.

“The holidays are a time of giving,” said Mitch Hungerpiller, owner of Central City Urban Farm. “There’s no better time to give a fresh and healthy meal to people who need it most this time of year.”

The donations from Central City Urban Farm, Lake Majestik Farms and Tamale Queen will go to a trio of area charities:

• Community Food Bank of Central Alabama – The Food Bank supplies millions of meals a year to food pantries, shelters and other programs across 12 counties.
• Firehouse Ministries – Firehouse offers help including meals, clothes and literacy skills to thousands of the neediest adults and children in Birmingham.
• Jimmie Hale Mission – The Mission transforms men and women affected by homelessness, poverty and addiction into people who lead health, self-sufficient and productive lives.

Beginning now through Dec. 19, Central City Urban Farm will donate a 5-ounce clamshell of lettuce for every 5-ounce clamshell of lettuce purchase from a customer. With nine varieties of lettuce offered including arugula, romaine and kale, there’s at least one green that’s sure to please everyone.

Gina White, better known as the Tamale Queen, creates beef, chicken and spicy pork tamales on the Market Wagon platform. Beginning now through Dec. 26, she is donating one tamale bake—which is enough to feed a family of four—for every five purchased by customers.

“Alabama is my home,” said Gina. “It has given me so much that I really want to pay it forward and help brighten the holidays for others.”

For more than 15 years, Lake Majestik Farms has raised Brangus cattle on 5,000 acres near Flat Rock, using rotational grazing practices to be good stewards of the land. They offer a number of steak cuts and sausage for sale in addition to ground beef.

Market Wagon enables farmers and food producers like Mitch, Gina and Lake Majestik to introduce their food to customers in cities like Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Talladega, Clanton, etc., without having to pay for costly shipping or delivery itself. More than two dozen local vendors use the platform to offer hundreds of products each week.

Plus, it’s important to note that a strong local supply chain provides an important solution to the continuing global supply chain problems exposed by the pandemic (and perhaps ramping up again with the Omicron variant).