Help Ron Olson of Two Acre Farm & Brinery Recover

My name is Abi Gildea and I'm the Market Manager for the Bloomfield Saturday Market, a program of Bloomfield Development Corporation (BDC) and a farmers market in Pittsburgh, PA. I'm here raising money for Ron of Two Acre Farm & Brinery who has fallen ill over the past several months. You know him and his wife, Nicole, for their delicious pickles, seasonings, dressings, and sauces. We're fundraising to help them pay hospital bills and business costs, and other life expenses during this incredibly difficult time. Their business is their full-time job. Nicole has been managing by herself at markets and will continue to until he's recovered.

It can be a hard long day, especially by yourself. Being a vendor at a farmers market requires a ton of preparation before the market even happens, loading your car up morning of, driving to Pittsburgh, setting up, getting ready to sell, interacting with hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people, tearing it all down when the day is over, loading your car back up, and driving back home. Now Ron absolutely loves doing this, and so does Nicole. However, when you have a family at home, and a sick husband to take care of, the day can feel long and overwhelming for Nicole.

BDC's goal is to raise money for this hard-working couple who works so hard to bring you fresh and local food, and have been a valuable member of our Saturday Market family for years. BDC believed in building and supporting small businesses, and we work to let all of our vendors know how important they are to us. If they don't feel supported, cared for, and like we'll go to bat for them when they need it, then we aren't doing our jobs.

Nicole wrote this message for everyone:

"Hey, Pickle Lovers! I am sure everyone is wondering where "The Pickle Guy" has been lately. He has not been serving his delicious pickles himself at markets because he suffered a heart attack in February and under went double bypass surgery. Ron remained in the hospital for 24 days. As he was recovering from open heart surgery, Ron went for his Covid-19 vaccination and ended up developing Bilateral Pulmonary Embolism. Which he is still recovering from today. Unfortunately, Ron will not be back at any of our markets this year. We hope his recovery goes well and Ron will be back to making some tasty pickles soon.

Our family is trying to keep up with our markets. However this year, we are only able to attend three markets. We are a small family owned sustainable farm and keeping it going without one of the main artisans has taken a toll on our family. Our sons, 17 and 15, have taken on a lot of new roles in our household. They have learned the responsibilities of maintaining a household and a business in a very short period of time. Ron has many more months for his recovery and can not wait to get back to seeing his market community soon. Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers."

All of your donation today will go directly to Ron & Nicole.

Please consider making a donation of any amount.