Shepherdstown Shares representative Mary Beth Kilmer, left, hugs Red House Farm owner Kate Savidan, after presenting her with a $1,000 donation on Sunday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — For most people, taking off work for their birthdays is a fun, penalty-free experience. But for at least one local woman, that has proven far from being the case.

With her birthday coming up on Aug. 10, Kate Savidan decided she would take a break for the day from running her and her husband’s business, Red House Farm in Bunker Hill. Typically, Savidan would have spent that day — a Thursday — preparing her meat for sale at the Charles Town Farmers Market and Shepherdstown Farmers Market, which are held during the warmer months every Saturday and Sunday morning, respectively.

“I process chickens on Wednesdays and ice it, anywhere from four hours to 24 hours — you’ve got to bring the temperature down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Then you bag it, and put it in the fridge. I iced it for about six hours, packaged it and then put it in the fridge — I like it to sit for 24 hours, and then I weigh it and put the prices on it,” Savidan said. “But Thursday was my birthday, so I decided to push it off on Friday. And sometime in between Thursday morning to Friday morning, the fridge stopped working.”

All $1,200 worth of meat had gone bad, leaving Red House Farm unable to sell anything over the coming weekend. The meat was safe for pet consumption, so some of it was able to be sold for a reduced price to local pet owners. Still, Savidan was left deeply concerned over how her business would be able to make up the financial loss.

“I was actually talking to another farmer, and they agreed that it’s always that time when you decide to take the afternoon off or take time off for your birthday or anniversary, when something goes wrong. It’s Murphy’s law,” Savidan said. “I did buy alarms for the fridge, so now it will alert me on my phone if the temperature stops working in the future. I’m not trusting that fridge again. When you’re dealing with fresh chicken, you don’t take risks!”

Shoppers walk through the Shepherdstown Farmers Market on Sunday morning. Tabitha Johnston

On Sunday afternoon at the Shepherdstown Farmers Market, Shepherdstown Shares Treasurer Mark Kohut and board member Mary Beth Kilmer approached Savidan with unexpected disaster relief funding. A total of $1,000 was given to Red House Farm, to help it recover from the loss. Half of that amount was donated by Shepherdstown Shares, which was then matched by John McCarrick.

“We have a board meeting once a month, and it hit a few days after this happened. We voted to provide help to them,” Kohut said, noting $500 is typically the amount Shepherdstown Shares has provided to businesses in need in the past. “Our mission statement we redefined just recently. It is to respond to the needs of the Shepherdstown community first, and sometimes a little beyond — we have an outreach into Fox Glen and Shannondale, as well. Need within the Shepherdstown area is our stated mission — that’s what the food pantry does, that’s what was done with the businesses that we provided financial relief.”

According to Kilmer, in redefining its mission statement, Shepherdstown Shares removed the term “crisis” from its statement.

“Ongoing need doesn’t have to be a crisis or a pandemic or the government shutting down, which is why our organization started initially,” Kilmer said. “We’re here to address need in our community. Focusing on the word ‘need’ rather than ‘crisis’ allows us to do more.”

Whitney Smith performs at the Shepherdstown Farmers Market on Sunday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston