Farmer's Market--Back to Warm Fuzzies
I'm home from market and have finally thawed out. Earl had Red Delicious apples on his table, and Dons had herb plants on theirs. I was told they also had a bit of asparagus and rhubarb early in the day. Frieda had hot-house tomatoes. Otherwise the offerings were non-produce items.
I went around and talked to someone at each occupied stall and remembered again why I like this place so much. Most of these vendors are people with initiative, creativity, resourcefulness, passion, and deep knowledge about their products. Some of them are really nice people too. In talking with Pam about the moving going on in our family this year, I heard the story of what happened to their daughter when she and her husband needed to sell a house and move to go to school, right after the bottom fell out of the housing market in 2008. Pam and her Sunday School class prayed over this matter. Against all odds, someone walked into the house and looked it over, then came back a second time, offering cash for the house at their original listed price. Pam said her son-in-law joked that if he had known how well that Sunday School class' prayers worked, he would have asked for a lot more a lot sooner. What a spirit-lifting story! That daughter is now through school and is a doctor in the Kansas City area.
The guy who had many, many well-rooted grape vines for sale today gave me first-hand advice on the best varieties (Mars and Reliance). I already have a Mars vine growing, and I've wanted Reliance for a long time so I bought one. It's a red seedless grape. This guy recommended the two-year old vines over the one-year old ones he also offered at a lower price. "Your survival rate will be a lot better on the 2-year-old plants," he told me. "I planted 250 of the 2-year old ones and lost one plant." I value advice from someone with such first-hand-experience.
The coffee and tea man was a new vendor. He buys roasted beans and grinds it on the spot for his customers. He also brews and sells coffee or tea. Those hot drinks tasted really good this morning. Iced tea is planned for this summer.
Arno and Linda felt good about their sales of ready-to-cook frozen foods. This was a new product for the market too. We've had vendors of Mexican food in the past, but last year none of them could meet the regulations for preparing the food in a certified kitchen, and they stopped coming. Their absence was a loss.
Other vendors offered handmade soaps and other cosmetics and health and hygiene items, natural bug spray, hand-crafted items, and oodles of delectable baked goods and jams and jellies.
The new ceiling fans installed down the center of the market for sure weren't needed today. There was an excess of cold air circulating as it was. But someday the fans will be a great blessing. The retractable drop cords overhead in the center aisle were put to use in the coffee booth today. Underfoot, the smooth surface and the freshly painted striping to designate the stall areas were snappy new features.
The best thing about the day was the overwhelming support the members expressed by their votes--in favor of continuing to offer the card purchase option (see previous post). There were no dissenting votes, although several people abstained--people who had expressed their intention to vote no, and/or spoke up against the proposal during the discussion. I think that by the time all the facts were out in the open and it was clear which way the wind blew, they saw the wisdom of "playing nice."
One person who talked to several vendors today helped make preserving the food stamps option seem wise. She has been a long-time, reliable customer. She's expecting a baby very soon, and her husband lost his job last fall. They have several other young children. Although she has apparently never paid with "food stamps" funds before, she looked for the food stamps stall immediately when she arrived today, and was disappointed when she couldn't find it. She told one vendor that she would not be able to afford to shop at the market in the future if the food stamp option were not available. At some point, apparently before she realized that the card option was on "life support," she had told Shane she would buy some meat next week, after the funds in her food stamps account were replenished. Before she left, she stopped by again and begged him not do away with the option. It was clear to everyone that she is not a leech, sucking favors out of other people's thumbs, but is caught in a tough spot right now, and still wants to feed her family real food instead of junk.
Publicity and increased use will be critical in keeping this program alive beyond this year. I appeal to everyone locally who has the opportunity, please help us out here in spreading the word: the farmer's market accepts cards--debit, credit, or Vision (same as SNAP, a.k.a. food stamps). Certainly, the food stamps program is abused sometimes, but using it for healthful meat, honey, eggs, whole-grain foods, and fresh produce is a good use of the funds.
********************
People still don't "get" the cole crop term. They think it's synonymous with "cold crop." Not so. Cole crop means "plants in the cabbage family" or "crucifers," or "plants in the mustard family." Those plants also happen to be cold tolerant, so using them interchangeably is not always misleading, but I'm embarrassed when people speaking for the market are quoted in the paper as saying that "cole crops" will be available on the first market days. No. Cole crops are never ready on the first market days. Cold-season crops like lettuce and spinach? Perhaps, but not this year. This mistake appeared twice this year in the paper. It makes us all look more stupid than we are.
*******************
My trip to the market was more eventful than I had hoped. I had noted on the way into town that I should probably get gas for Li'l Red--Grant's truck--soon, since the gauge showed that I had a little less than a quarter tank left. Coasting down Rayl's Hill, (Around here, hills are so notable that they get their own private name.) the engine sputtered and then went quiet. With a bridge looming ahead, I had to slow and pull off fairly promptly, even though I had a semi on my tail--going downhill, remember? I couldn't restart the engine, so I quickly called home to have Hiromi bring gas. I knew he would follow in ten minutes or so. It rang, but my phone battery died before anyone answered. (Yes, I neglect my cell phone shamefully.) So I waited for Hiromi.
I know enough about his powers of observation regarding vehicles (too much like mine--very weak) to worry a bit about catching his attention as he sped by. So I made plans to lay on the horn if I saw him approach. He approached and I honked and he sped by. He did, however, have second thoughts when he saw that there was someone inside the vehicle, so he turned around and came back. I joined him in Joel's car and we went together to the market and got there in time for the opening ceremonies. Afterward we came home together for gas, and made a quick trip to some of the Partridge garage sales and headed back. Hiromi poured in gas and we filled it up all the way when we got to the West 4th Co-op. In the meantime, Jared came along and saw Grant's truck, apparently stalled beside the road, so he called Grant to inquire. Grant called Shane, who told him it had run out of gas. "Oh yeah," Grant said. "I forgot to tell them that the gas gauge doesn't work."
I went around and talked to someone at each occupied stall and remembered again why I like this place so much. Most of these vendors are people with initiative, creativity, resourcefulness, passion, and deep knowledge about their products. Some of them are really nice people too. In talking with Pam about the moving going on in our family this year, I heard the story of what happened to their daughter when she and her husband needed to sell a house and move to go to school, right after the bottom fell out of the housing market in 2008. Pam and her Sunday School class prayed over this matter. Against all odds, someone walked into the house and looked it over, then came back a second time, offering cash for the house at their original listed price. Pam said her son-in-law joked that if he had known how well that Sunday School class' prayers worked, he would have asked for a lot more a lot sooner. What a spirit-lifting story! That daughter is now through school and is a doctor in the Kansas City area.
The guy who had many, many well-rooted grape vines for sale today gave me first-hand advice on the best varieties (Mars and Reliance). I already have a Mars vine growing, and I've wanted Reliance for a long time so I bought one. It's a red seedless grape. This guy recommended the two-year old vines over the one-year old ones he also offered at a lower price. "Your survival rate will be a lot better on the 2-year-old plants," he told me. "I planted 250 of the 2-year old ones and lost one plant." I value advice from someone with such first-hand-experience.
The coffee and tea man was a new vendor. He buys roasted beans and grinds it on the spot for his customers. He also brews and sells coffee or tea. Those hot drinks tasted really good this morning. Iced tea is planned for this summer.
Arno and Linda felt good about their sales of ready-to-cook frozen foods. This was a new product for the market too. We've had vendors of Mexican food in the past, but last year none of them could meet the regulations for preparing the food in a certified kitchen, and they stopped coming. Their absence was a loss.
Other vendors offered handmade soaps and other cosmetics and health and hygiene items, natural bug spray, hand-crafted items, and oodles of delectable baked goods and jams and jellies.
The new ceiling fans installed down the center of the market for sure weren't needed today. There was an excess of cold air circulating as it was. But someday the fans will be a great blessing. The retractable drop cords overhead in the center aisle were put to use in the coffee booth today. Underfoot, the smooth surface and the freshly painted striping to designate the stall areas were snappy new features.
The best thing about the day was the overwhelming support the members expressed by their votes--in favor of continuing to offer the card purchase option (see previous post). There were no dissenting votes, although several people abstained--people who had expressed their intention to vote no, and/or spoke up against the proposal during the discussion. I think that by the time all the facts were out in the open and it was clear which way the wind blew, they saw the wisdom of "playing nice."
One person who talked to several vendors today helped make preserving the food stamps option seem wise. She has been a long-time, reliable customer. She's expecting a baby very soon, and her husband lost his job last fall. They have several other young children. Although she has apparently never paid with "food stamps" funds before, she looked for the food stamps stall immediately when she arrived today, and was disappointed when she couldn't find it. She told one vendor that she would not be able to afford to shop at the market in the future if the food stamp option were not available. At some point, apparently before she realized that the card option was on "life support," she had told Shane she would buy some meat next week, after the funds in her food stamps account were replenished. Before she left, she stopped by again and begged him not do away with the option. It was clear to everyone that she is not a leech, sucking favors out of other people's thumbs, but is caught in a tough spot right now, and still wants to feed her family real food instead of junk.
Publicity and increased use will be critical in keeping this program alive beyond this year. I appeal to everyone locally who has the opportunity, please help us out here in spreading the word: the farmer's market accepts cards--debit, credit, or Vision (same as SNAP, a.k.a. food stamps). Certainly, the food stamps program is abused sometimes, but using it for healthful meat, honey, eggs, whole-grain foods, and fresh produce is a good use of the funds.
********************
People still don't "get" the cole crop term. They think it's synonymous with "cold crop." Not so. Cole crop means "plants in the cabbage family" or "crucifers," or "plants in the mustard family." Those plants also happen to be cold tolerant, so using them interchangeably is not always misleading, but I'm embarrassed when people speaking for the market are quoted in the paper as saying that "cole crops" will be available on the first market days. No. Cole crops are never ready on the first market days. Cold-season crops like lettuce and spinach? Perhaps, but not this year. This mistake appeared twice this year in the paper. It makes us all look more stupid than we are.
*******************
My trip to the market was more eventful than I had hoped. I had noted on the way into town that I should probably get gas for Li'l Red--Grant's truck--soon, since the gauge showed that I had a little less than a quarter tank left. Coasting down Rayl's Hill, (Around here, hills are so notable that they get their own private name.) the engine sputtered and then went quiet. With a bridge looming ahead, I had to slow and pull off fairly promptly, even though I had a semi on my tail--going downhill, remember? I couldn't restart the engine, so I quickly called home to have Hiromi bring gas. I knew he would follow in ten minutes or so. It rang, but my phone battery died before anyone answered. (Yes, I neglect my cell phone shamefully.) So I waited for Hiromi.
I know enough about his powers of observation regarding vehicles (too much like mine--very weak) to worry a bit about catching his attention as he sped by. So I made plans to lay on the horn if I saw him approach. He approached and I honked and he sped by. He did, however, have second thoughts when he saw that there was someone inside the vehicle, so he turned around and came back. I joined him in Joel's car and we went together to the market and got there in time for the opening ceremonies. Afterward we came home together for gas, and made a quick trip to some of the Partridge garage sales and headed back. Hiromi poured in gas and we filled it up all the way when we got to the West 4th Co-op. In the meantime, Jared came along and saw Grant's truck, apparently stalled beside the road, so he called Grant to inquire. Grant called Shane, who told him it had run out of gas. "Oh yeah," Grant said. "I forgot to tell them that the gas gauge doesn't work."
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
5:18 PM
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