CMI Operations Manager Mark Peiffer, left, chats with a group at the open house on April 14. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Four years ago, Community Markets, Inc. (CMI) was founded in Charles Town, by local business owners Guido Ellsworth and Paul Buede.

The headquarters for the 501©(3) nonprofit organization were set up in the empty space of the building that housed Ellsworth’s and Buede’s business, B.E.S. Technology, Inc. While the space worked well for the needs of CMI and its six staff members, it was not intended to be a permanent solution. When Ellsworth and Buede decided to close down the commercial side of B.E.S. Technology, Inc. last year, they were quick to let CMI know about the change, as it would mean the loss of CMI’s free location.

“They closed the commercial side of B.E.S. Technology last summer — they said during a meeting that the building would be sold,” said CMI Operations Manager Mark Peiffer. “So immediately after, we started looking for a new location.”

According to Peiffer, the greatest challenge for CMI, was in finding an affordable location in Jefferson County.

“It was either way too much floorspace than we needed, with too much overhead, or it was not a very inviting place — it was old or rundown,” Peiffer said of the search.

CMI Mobile Market Coordinator Chris Hozdic, right, chats with CMI volunteer Lynn Welsh, of Summit Point, at the open house on April 14. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Eventually, Peiffer heard about the Flowing Springs Professional Center on the property of Covenant Church, located at 7485 Shepherdstown Pike in Shepherdstown. It was in a good location, with several available office suites. CMI ended up deciding to rent a 500-square-foot suite, which had enough space for six desks and a break room.

On April 14, CMI held an open house in its new space, to celebrate the move. Community members came out in droves, to check out the space and learn more about the future for the nonprofit.

“Covenant Church very graciously let us move here,” said AmeriCorps VISTA Fundraising Specialist Maria Resendiz. “Though we are now based in Shepherdstown, we’ll still be doing outreach in all of the ways that we did before.”

Resendiz kept busy throughout the open house, signing up attendees for a 50/50 raffle. One of those to sign up for the raffle was Mara Nordstrom, of Martinsburg.

“I think it’s an upgrade!” Nordstrom said, mentioning she had seen the previous office space. “This is a great space.”

An open house attendee enters the Flowing Springs Professional Center on April 14. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Jefferson County Commission president Pasha Majdi, who gave a special address at the end of the open house, agreed with her.

“It’s terrific news for the community,” Majdi said. “Obviously, CMI is a charitable venture which everybody can support, but there’s a specific focus that it has, which the county commission really likes — that is, to support local farmers and those in need of healthy food, at the same time.

“That’s the focus of our county development — we talk about supporting local farmers all the time, in our Comprehensive Plan,” Majdi said. “We need to do more than say, ‘We want farmers to keep their farms.’ We have to support the local economy, so that farmers can turn a profit.”

While the new location is half the size of CMI’s previous one, Peiffer said he believed it would be able to serve most of the organization’s needs.

“It’s an inviting space. There’s nothing quite like it,” Peiffer said. “I’m excited about spreading our wings and getting out on our own. It’s a good progression, of the training wheels coming off. In the last four years, the community has really rallied around us.”

CMI Operations Manager Mark Peiffer gives a tour of the front of the nonprofit’s new office space on April 14. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

In its first couple of years alone, CMI fed 12,300 people in 10 West Virginia counties, with 134,000 pounds of healthy and locally-sourced food. It also put over $321,500 back into the pockets of farmers and small family businesses in the area. In addition, it fed hundreds of underserved students and vulnerable seniors in Jefferson County, through partnerships with Jefferson County Schools and the Jefferson County Council On Aging.

“We raise money to buy food at a fair price from local farmers, that then goes out to people in need,” Peiffer said. “We’re trying to change health outcomes in our region for underserved individuals, by focusing on providing them with food that will nourish their bodies and enable them to have longterm wellness.”

Peiffer said he hoped CMI would eventually have enough funding to expand into a second suite in the Flowing Springs Professional Center, to give them more office and food storage space. But at the moment, he is focused on building relationships with the Shepherdstown community, including with Shepherdstown Shares and Tabler Farm.

“We’re trying to make as many connections as possible,” Peiffer said. “We’re all serving the same people in need, so being able to collaborate together with the limited resources we have, is the best way for us to do the most good.”

To learn more about CMI, visit https://www.communitymarketsinc.org/.