{"id":363,"date":"2009-09-06T16:34:36","date_gmt":"2009-09-06T16:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/apagansblog\/2009\/09\/sebastopols-farmers-markets.html"},"modified":"2009-09-06T16:34:36","modified_gmt":"2009-09-06T16:34:36","slug":"sebastopols-farmers-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2009\/09\/sebastopols-farmers-markets.html","title":{"rendered":"Sebastopol’s Farmers Markets"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just returned from our Sunday Farmers’ Market, which as
\nsummer rolls towards its end has become a feast for they eyes as well as the
\nbody.  <\/span>Huge mounds of organic
\ntomatoes, squash, beans, onions, broccoli, peaches, spinach, greens and peppers
\ngrace the farmers’ displays. (If you have never smelled a freshly picked pepper
\nyou are missing something fine in life) 
\n<\/span>There are also booths where people sell wild salmon, humanely raised pork
\nand beef, fresh eggs, local honey, and everything else anyone with an appetite
\ncould ask for.  <\/span>All for less than
\nthe grocery stores near by.  <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\nA local restaurant, the French Garden, has a market of its
\nown, for all the produce used by the restaurant is grown by the owners on their
\nown farm.  <\/span>They opened up their own
\nmarket as well, to draw attention to their place as well as provide their own
\nwonderful produce, as well as the food they make from it.  <\/span>They have been joined by other vendors
\nas well, selling flowers, honey, and local humanely raised chicken.<\/p>\n

If Beliefnet had a decent way to paste in pictures I’d show
\nall these feasts for the eye.<\/p>\n

Every dollar spent at these places stays in the community,
\nrewarding those who have chosen to become farmers not to make money, but to
\nhave a right livelihood, and make enough money to do so reasonably.  <\/span>For this is one of the most interesting
\nthings about Farmers’ Markets – in many cases the folks growing for them have
\ngone out of their way to become farmers, and making lots of money is a primary
\nmotive only for the most foolish.<\/p>\n

As I wandered around I was struck with the difference in how
\nthe crowd acted compared to those, often the same people, even my favorite
\ngrocery stores.  <\/span>People gathered in
\ngroups to talk, others simply relaxed in the sun.  <\/span>I bumped into an old friend I hadn’t seen in years.  <\/span>This week there was an heirloom tomato
\ntasting booth, with samples contributed by vendors.  <\/span>Over half a case of tomatoes had gone put in samples by the
\ntime my turn came. On other weekends there is live music, again local and in
\nwonderful variety, from blue grass to African.<\/p>\n

In every booth it seems regular customers are frequently
\ntalking with old customers about all manner of things, usually food related,
\nbut not always.  <\/span>We learn not just
\nabout the vegetables we are considering buying, if we take the time and have
\nthe interest, we can learn about how they were grown, and the myriad details of
\nlife in agriculture.<\/p>\n

Farmers Markets like Sebastopol’s are not just about selling
\nfood.  <\/span>They are true community
\nevents.  <\/span>The corporate mentality
\nthat has done so much to poison our society and its relation with the earth is
\nblessedly absent.  <\/span>Instead is a
\nvery human enterprise.<\/p>\n

This is how a civilization can learn to live wisely upon the
\nearth – by not making food simply a commodity, but rather a part of the ties
\nthat connect and strengthen a community, human and more-than-human.  <\/span>Not every place is as blessed
\nagriculturally as Sonoma County, and the farmer’s market I attended when I
\nlived in Canton, New York, north of the Adirondacks, was a tiny thing compared
\nto here.  <\/span>The growing season was
\njust too short: while I was there I’d seen snow start in October and end in
\nMay.  <\/span>Even here they are not open
\nall year, nor is everything we look for at a more traditional market available
\nfrom local producers.  <\/span>So I know Farmers’
\nMarkets are not a replacement for the more traditional kind of market.<\/p>\n

But I beieve they are an essential piece of that enormously complex
\nand beautiful pattern of connection that we can all help weave and preserve if
\nwe support our local producers wherever we can.  <\/span>I think every dollar spent there aids not only the human
\ncommunity, it aids the larger community.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just returned from our Sunday Farmers’ Market, which as summer rolls towards its end has become a feast for they eyes as well as the body.  Huge mounds of organic tomatoes, squash, beans, onions, broccoli, peaches, spinach, greens and peppers grace the farmers’ displays. 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