Originally published on January 19, 2024

We inadvertently created a “Third Place”. We didn’t necessarily set out to create one, but we did. As the Farm Store popularity grew, we noticed a sense of community building. Our customers were looking forward to meeting up with neighbors and friends on Saturday mornings. They asked after each other and made sure they didn’t miss each other when they got to the counter, “Has Dave gotten here yet?”.

A Third Place is a term coined by Ray Oldenburg, an urban sociologist. The term refers to a place beyond your home (first place) or your work (second place) where people gather and interact casually and informally within a community. Our Farm Store is a Third Place for our little community. And, it evolved into an even more meaningful Third Place as we dipped in and out of the COVID-19 pandemic over the last few years.

I like to thing of Third Places as spaces. Spaces in our lives where transitions happen. Spaces that bring us back to nature. When I lived in NYC, I was always looking for bright, outdoor spaces to sit, have a cup of coffee and relax. In fact, I found a little book and had adventures by myself every day when I wasn’t working to seek out the small outdoor spaces in NYC. Spaces in nature can be rejuvenating. Spaces for transitions can do wonders for the soul because it allows your mind the space to accept and move through the transition.

Our Third Space allows visitors to settle into a routine of visiting with others, socializing over a cup of coffee and letting go of the cares of the week and duties of the weekend, if only for a few hours on Saturday morning. A business decision convinced us to push all of the supply of baked goods and coffee to a demand of only one morning- Saturday’s, April through Christmas, mostly for our own wellbeing as owners and operators, but as the time went by, we realized we had created a community of people who join us for the comraderie, the community and the friendships.

Our little community helps support one of our members goals to create more natural spaces and preserve nature with her work on Earth Day and other special nature events.

Our little community helps support our members who have fallen ill with meal trains. and support.

Our little community celebrates life’s biggest moments together.

This Third Space is more than just friendships. It is a community of people who take care of each other. This Third Space is a space for letting go. The comfortable community feel invites socialization, meeting and greeting of others, it is a transition into the weekend space, leaving behind the work week, commiserating about the work week, but then letting it go and discussing fun things that are happening in our lives.

While we have inadvertently created this Third Space for our community, you can create a Third Space for yourself! Thinking through some action steps to help you plan for your own third space, I’ve included some thoughts below. I thought this was fun, because most of us just flow from one part of our lives, work, to the other, home and back again without much conscious thought about the transition that is occurring, While our Farm Store has created that space for transition into the weekend, a sacred time to our customers to relax, rejuvenate with friends, and slowly start the weekend, you can create a third space in between work and home, in between working from home and transitioning to home activities, in between caring for a child or elderly parent and then caring for your self. Anytime there is a transition, creating space for you to blend into the new is a good time for breathing and preparing.

Identify your “modes”. When are you working? When do you want to signal a change to something other than working? When do you relax? Where do you like to find rest?
Create an action plan. How will you best use the space and time during the transition? Our Farm Store customers have chosen to bring their families, sit around the fire pit, meet and greet new friends and old ones too. Sure, they are shopping in the store and buying a morning pastry and coffee, but it is more than that. Way more.
Pick a ritual. Make the moments be something you love. Our Farm Store customers choose to spend Saturday mornings at the Farm as a way to start their weekend, it is a habit they have formed and they stick to it, every weekend, and miss it when we close for the winter (we miss it too by the way!). Making the ritual a habit will take a little bit of time (about 14 days or so), but once created, it will allow for that transition space to be filled with something you love to do. Getting out of the house on Saturday before the chores of the weekend start, sharing some laughter over a cup of coffee is the ritual we have helped our community create. Our Farm Store customers are our friends and neighbors and have chosen to spend their Third Space time with us.
Use a specific location, inside or outside of your home. Whenever you want the ritual to take place. Once you are in that space and location allow your mind to clear of the events, stressors and emotions of the day. What’s great about our Third Space and has been for all of the pandemic is the seating is outside- sometimes we are huddled under the tents and umbrellas when it is raining and other times we are securing places under the tree and table umbrellas for shade from the hot summer sun. The space is set up for relaxing and staying a while even though it is outside.
Reflect on your day. This is a great time for gratefulness, sharing openly with others, journaling or just thinking about three things that you are grateful for. While our customers may not do this step while they are socializing, there is comraderie and shared experiences that have everyone saying “See you next weekend” when they are leaving.
Stick with it. Create the habit, continue to study and adjust your practice so it complements your day and helps you transition to the next best thing. Our Farm Store customers are regulars, we love seeing them each weekend and miss them when they are absent.
Find an anchor. This can be a buddy who is in this third space with you, or can be a mindfulness technique you utilize to help you stay in that space of calmness. You don’t have to face the transition alone, you can chose to be in the space with others for socialization, friendship and community. We’ve noticed families interacting with other families, friends meeting up at the Farm Store, even folks coming to see us in particularly.

A convenient, comfortable, community filled space

featured Farm Product

Lavender & Mint loose leaf tea

$10.00

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