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Owner
Chris received a BA in Comparative Studies from The Ohio State University before earning an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary.
A native of Gahanna, Ohio, Chris has years of experience in both warehouse management, logistics, and delivery services.
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Head of Morale
Dear sweet Billy is working towards being one heck of a real good boy farm dog. While he’s never gonna be a livestock guardian dog (and wasn’t meant to be!), he sure does love his goats.
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Dreamer
Bekah is a true jack-of-all-trades. After graduating as (a) valedictorian of her high school, she pursued various careers and paths of learning. She has been a nanny, has run the coursebook department of an Ivy League school, has worked more retail positions than you can count, (and just about as many factory jobs). She wishes people asked “Why do you do” instead of “What do you do”…
She grew up on a fully sustainable 5-acre farm outside of Findlay, and now happily chases that vision in Yelverton.
Our Story
YELVERTON Mercantile is a dream in the making. Farmers Chris & Bekah both grew up in Ohio. In their twenties, they separately made their way to New Jersey where they met and fell in love. Within a few years, the call of the Heartland was undeniable, and we chose Hardin County to settle down in for good. (Bekah had grown up in the country outside of Findlay, and Chris hailed from the Columbus-area. Kenton offered gorgeous rolling farmland and happened to fall about halfway between our original stomping grounds). At the time, the slogan coming into town was “A Great Place to Call Home” and we couldn’t agree more!
OUR plan had always been to start a large market garden, eventually offering a varied selection of fresh organic heirloom vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruit. During the pandemic we were able to get a good start on that dream, but we’ve had a number of setbacks over the fall and winter that have caused us to re-evaluate our plan and… to DREAM EVEN BIGGER!
HARDIN County has given us so much in our time here, and we very much want to give back. So while our business model is changing slightly, our values and determination remain the same! Sustainability is at the core of all we do and we seek to exist to three ends: To Educate, Elevate, and Propagate.
Educate: Provide classes and workshops, seeds and planting-knowledge
Elevate: Introduce consumers to sustainable products from other small vendors. Uplift the community to reach common goals.
Propagate: Spread ideas, knowledge, and funds to reach even more people within our community
