Early in the morning, when the grass is still glistening with dew, the vendors begin to roll in one by one. Quietly the farmers unload crates of vegetables. The bakers carefully set up freshly piped cupcakes. People uncover their booths and the day begins. Walking around to stretch their legs and look at each other’s selections, the vendors engage each other in a bit of morning chit chat as they wait for the sun to fully come up and the customers to arrive.
Farmers markets are a unique world. As you walk around, you may believe you have come to shop, to purchase some produce and return to your home. But if you stop and look around, you will notice that there is much more that unfolds here than what you would experience in your everyday grocery store. The farmers market has much more to offer than being a place to make and spend money. It is an incubator for a burgeoning local food culture that arises from people with common interests having a consistent gathering place to share goods as well as ideas, creating a community from these social interactions.
The farmer’s market… is an incubator for a burgeoning local food culture that arises from people with common interests having a consistent gathering place to share goods as well as ideas, creating a community from these social interactions.
The market, open to the public and in an area accessible to the community, is a venue for the sale of homemade products and locally grown foods. A farmers market is most often made up of a small area, sometimes in an official building, but more often in the corner of a parking lot or on the town green, depending on the season and weather. Upon entering, you will see many booths selling items from vegetables to flowers, food products such as jams, pickles, and syrups, and hand made things like clothing, decor, soaps and woodwork. The list goes on. Farmers, craftspeople, shoppers, and miscellaneous community members out for a stroll will all gather here, milling around, regarding the various offerings.
In North America, the economy is built around industry and big business. Most of the things people own or buy were purchased in a grocery store or department store, made or grown in a factory, far from their place of purchase, and often in a different country. There are few alternatives to this lifestyle. As people depend on industry to provide their daily necessities, this type of purchasing has become a central aspect of the culture. In an economy based society, people tend to view others as consumers. The farmers market, however, opens the door to another way of interacting around commerce. The opportunity for people to know how their vegetables were grown or to be able to converse with the person who made their soap is unique. It necessitates a level of pride and responsibility in the work on the part of the maker and it cultivates an awareness and knowledge of how the product was made for the purchaser. This shared interaction fosters community. It brings people together in business by creating both a supply and demand for local products.
As well as being a place to trade goods, the farmers market setting also serves as a place to trade information. Coming together over food and locally made products brings up many similar interests in a group of people. When
people with corresponding passion end up working in the same physical area, collaboration and sharing of knowledge takes place. Within the farmers market culture, ideas, tips for gardening, and even recipes are shared among its members. Educational discussions arise from two neighboring booths talking about the particular bug that has infested both of their gardens this year. Having the physical structure of the market creates an environment in which people are brought together around a common interest in and passion for goods that are made locally. This provides the opportunity for community to grow around a common lifestyle.
The values of the sustainable food movement include what types of food are eaten, how people nourish their bodies, and how they foster community.
We have seen time and again throughout history that a very significant marker of community is coming together over food, and the farmers market culture is one that is centered in food. This applies not just to the consuming of it, but to the integrity of the way that the products are made or grown. An important distinguishing factor in this community, this leads to discussions of relevant topics, from cultivating seeds to the preparation of foods for meals with others.
Shared values forge a bond between members of communities. The values of the sustainable food movement include what types of food are eaten, how people nourish their bodies, and how they foster community. This type of culture is reminiscent of a forgotten way of eating, buying, and living prior to the industrial revolution. The advent of modern society has brought a loss of connection to local market culture, leading to a separation between people and the food they buy and eat. For this reason, modern day food movements seek to establish an alternative approaches for consumers who do not want to eat or buy products that are made using unethical practices or that contain potentially harmful ingredients. This effort generates a network of people who are joined together to support each other at a local level. Many people who share this philosophy rely on neighbors and people in their surrounding community to provide for them, not depending on an industry based system. They believe that for people to be self sustaining they must not only be less dependent on a bigger and more impersonal system, but must also be more dependent on each other. Such communities core values lie in the very concept of cultivating community.
As food is discussed and traded, people begin to reciprocate friendship and community just as easily. In getting to know each other and sharing a common space, there are stories to gossip about and community happenings to converse over. This is a place where people can talk personally. Familiar faces are seen year to year. Time is spent together on a regular basis. Community efforts grow here, from local newspapers, to discussion and advocacy around social issues. It is a meeting place for the exchange of ideas, to catch up with your neighbors, to get food for tonight’s get together. All of these collaborative aspects of the market are missing when you check out at the supermarket. Creating and promoting community all at once, the farmers market plays a crucial role in bringing the movement for local, sustainable communities to fruition.
