MANSFIELD — The North End Community Improvement Collaborative Farmer’s Market is just a few months away. But this year, it’ll be in a new location.
The market is moving to the parking lot of 486 Springmill Street, where the NECIC will also be relocating its operations.
NECIC’s Springmill Street offices, known as Grow by NECIC, will officially open on July 1, while the farmer’s market will kick off its summer season there on June 18.
For the last several years, NECIC staff have worked out of offices in downtown Mansfield, while the farmers market took place at the agency’s Urban Farm.
Chief Operating Officer Tionna Perdue said she thinks having the market at the corner of Springmill and Bowman will boost visibility for shoppers and vendors alike.
“Our vendors are coming back. They’re super excited about the move,” she said. “People are going to be able to see what we’re doing.
“We’re going to have music and food trucks.”
As always, shoppers will be able to find locally-sourced goods and enjoy a weekly cooking demonstration every Thursday.
But that’s not all the agency is cooking up.
Grow by NECIC: Part farm stop, part community center
Grow by NECIC’s farm stop store is set to launch in August.
The reimagined community space will bring a new, farm style-grocery store and community gathering space to 486 Springmill Street.
The store will carry frozen meats, eggs, milk, cheese, produce and flowers from the North End Urban Farm, Richland Correctional Institute Farm and other local vendors.
The farm store will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
CEO Matthew Benko-Scruggs said the store will be similar to an indoor farmer’s market, but will also offer a cafe seating area. Tea, coffee, baked goods and grab-and-go meals will be available for purchase onsite.
101 Tea will be opening a second location inside Grow, with walk-up windows accessible on both the inside and outside of the building.
Braxton Daniels, who took over the downtown tea shop in 2022, said opening a satellite inside Grow is deeply personal for him.
Daniels grew up in the same neighborhood. His mother still lives a few blocks away.
101 Tea’s North End location will have a different menu than the downtown storefront, with signature drinks inspired by the area’s history and culture.
“I want to take some of these iconic road names — Harker, Bowman — and try to tie that in,” Daniels said.
With drinks like the JPU (short for Johns Park University), Daniels said he hopes to reinforce a sense of community that has long been a hallmark of the North End.
“It’s more than just putting liquid in a cup and serving it to people,” he said. “It’s that connection. It’s that neighborhood feel. It’s somewhere we can call home.
“I really hope everyone calls it home. This place is for them.”
Store will offer opportunities for youth employment
Benko-Scruggs said Grow by NECIC will be similar to Local Roots, a grocery farm stop and cafe located in Wooster. But it will also incorporate the services NECIC is known for.
It will be a space where residents can go for information on job openings and to discuss their concerns with community organizers.
“If some of the neighbors are concerned that the fire hydrant on their block doesn’t work, we want to know those things and address them and work with the city,” Benko-Scruggs said. “How do we fix these things in the North End?”
NECIC Staffing wil continue to provide job seekers with holistic support and as-needed training.
“We are an alternative staffing agency so we work with the whole person,” Perdue said. “You might not be able to go to work just yet, but we will work with other agencies and do wraparound services to get you ready to work.”
Benko-Scruggs said Grow by NECIC will also incorporate youth development through its staffing.
NECIC is partnering with the Richland County Juvenile Court to offer paying jobs and life skills training alongside adult mentors.
“It’s a way to give the kids something to do,” Perdue said. “It’s another way to eliminate violence.
“These kids always complain that they have nothing to do and no safe space to go.”
What about the community impact center?
NECIC purchased the Springmill building in 2021. The following year, the organization’s leaders announced plans to build a multimillion-dollar community impact center.
After a series of funding hurdles and leadership changes, today’s NECIC leadership said it was time to change directions.
Scruggs joined the NECIC as CEO in June 2025. Since then, NECIC has held listening sessions with residents and business owners to determine which aspects of the organization’s platform to prioritize.
“(NECIC Founder) Deanna (West-Torrence) created this amazing vision (for a community center), but we just didn’t have the resources to do it,” Benko-Scruggs said. “So I had to pivot with the resources we had and say, ‘What can we do with what we have?’ ”
“At this point, to build that building, it’s $20 million,” he added. “If somebody wanted to invest $20 million in the North End, I’d love to talk to them. But we just don’t have that type of leverage yet.”
Perdue said she’s excited for Grow by NECIC to further build on the organization’s legacy of local food initiatives.
“This may not be what people thought it was going to be, but I think it’s a good pivot,” she said. “As a North End resident, I love it. I’m hear for it. I’m excited.”
While the future of 486 Springmill Street might look different than planned, Daniels said the mission and purpose remain the same.
“I think the north (side of Mansfield) has always been an underdeveloped and underinvested side of town and I feel like someone had to make that initial leap. I think that’s us,” said Daniels, who serves as vice president of the NECIC board.
“We’re doing it for the community and the residents that live on the North End.”
