Toms Creek Family Farms co-owner Neset Hikmet stands holding produce from his booth at the Soda City Market on March 5. Hikmet started the business with his wife in 2019 and has worked to incorporate his family’s past into his own field. “I’m from the Mediterranean region of the Middle East,” Hikmet said. “I grew up in an environment that my grandfather was a grocery store owner, my other grandfather was a citrus orchard owner. So that’s the environment that I grew up in.” Photo by Kalliope Samaltanos
Toms Creek Family Farms co-owner Neset Hikmet enjoys the process of running his business and understands the importance of growing fresh, local foods.
Toms Creek Family Farms was founded in 2019 and is run by Neset Hikmet along with his wife and immediate family. Hikmet comes from a family of produce farmers, and after immigrating from Turkey to the United States he started a farm of his own.
Hikmet enjoys the opportunities that the family farm life provides him with, especially after gaining the chance to do what he is interested in after his immigration.
“Everybody has their own perceptions about coming from a foreign country. So for me, it was an opportunity that I wanted to do,” Hikmet said. “The good part is the family stays together. So all three of my kids and all five grandchildren are all together. Part of (them) live on the farm and part of (them) live here in town with us. So we’re four generation of (farmers) and then my son-in-law’s parents live on the farm too.”
Fresh vegetables are displayed at the Toms Creek Family Farms booth at the Soda City Market on March 5. Kim Carpenter, a Soda City visitor, enjoyed buying locally grown produce because of her relationship with farming. “He gave us a sample of the carrots. And they were delicious, really good. I do think they are a little bit sweeter than regular carrots,” Carpenter said. “Good customer service is important. But these people are super friendly. No matter what kind of carrots they have, if you’re not nice I’m not gonna buy them.” Photo by Ireland McCage
Toms Creek Family Farms sells fresh, locally grown products ranging from fruits to olive oil to its customers at the Soda City Market on Saturdays and Sometars Farmers Market on Fridays.
“We have animals, we have bees, we have chickens, goats, sheep. And then we have the vegetables,” Hikmet said. “What we get from the animals is manure, we reuse it in the vegetables as our fertilizer. So it’s all-natural.”
Along with providing the South Carolina community with fresh products, the business is dedicated to leaving a small ecological footprint according to the Toms Creek Family Farms website.
“We are devoted to Ecological Farming. We are keen on healthy farming and healthy food for today and tomorrow by protecting soil, water and climate,” the website states. “Our activities promote biodiversity, and does not contaminate the environment with chemical inputs or genetic engineering.”
While the business mainly focuses on the quality of their products, they also enjoy the bonds they are able to build with their customers.
“Doing this market here is more of a relationship,” Hikmet said. “You sell so many (products) in four hours, that doesn’t buy you the Lamborghini, but the relationship that we have to chit-chat with the information we exchanged with the people, that’s the most fun part, satisfying part.”
Farm Manager Larry Schneeberger enjoys the family dynamic that his job at Toms Creek Family Farms provides and the impact local foods can have on a community.
“(Going to the market is) great. It’s a hands-on face-to-face (interaction) with the customers. They know what we do (and) we have regulars,” Schneeberger said. “The American people need to know that (the United States) import (75% of) our stuff from Mexico. Why? (Because) we can grow it here.”
“The American people need to know that (the United States) import (75% of) our stuff from Mexico. Why? (Because) we can grow it here.”
— Kim Carpenter,
South Carolina native
South Carolina native Kim Carpenter works to actively support small businesses through attending the Soda City Market and buying local produce.
“I like to buy local and support the local farmers,” Carpenter said. “It takes a lot of work to grow things and they put a lot of labor into it.”
As one of the business owners, Hikmet understands the struggles of farming along with the reward, and appreciates seeing the payoff when customers buy his products.
“The best part is you put (in) your efforts and in 30, 60, 90 days you see your results, and then bring it to the farm market,” Hikmet said. “Today’s (produce is) fresh compared to grocery stores where (they are) maybe a couple of weeks old. So everything you see (at the market), it’s very fresh. And that’s satisfying when you guys buy it and eat it and say, ‘Yum, this is delicious.’”
Visuals by Ireland McCage
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