The time on the dash displayed 3 o'clock as Mom and I pulled out of the drive. I dropped a quick comment in our vendor group to let our market manager know we were on our way, albeit thirty minutes behind our arrival goal.
We had spent the day milking and choring, typing recipes for our bundles, gathering market materials, writing on chalkboards, bagging bundles, loading meat, and trying to stay cool in the midst of the excitement of the first Tuesday night market to take place with the Neosho Farmers’ Market. As we arrived, volunteers were busy setting up tents, hanging signs, marking the pavement, and working to get everything in perfect order before the opening bell rang. We hurriedly got everything set up and in place with help from neighboring vendors. The market community once again rallied together to make sure everyone was ready to welcome our guests. Standing there with fifteen minutes until the bell rang, I tried to take it all in. Behind the perfectly placed tents, the color-coded coolers, and the beautiful displays of vegetables were the hours. No, days. Actually, years of dedication and passion... I tried to put myself in your shoes wondering what your perspective is of the market. Here are a few things you might not know… You are looking at the women who turned the rows in her garden a different direction this year to try to prevent flooding, the women who tried and tasted green bean after green bean to provide you with the most flavorful bean available. She’s so proud of that fact that she’s going to share it with you as she bundles your veggies. You are perusing the baked goods of the mother who called her son on the way home on Monday, asking him to start baking. With the first ever evening market coming to our town, she was not going to let you all down. You are talking to the farmer who brought that calf in on a cold, freezing night by the fire, dried it with a towel, and kept it warm until it was strong enough to go out on its own again. For two years, he or she cared for it- providing fresh pasture, keeping mineral in front of it, and dealing with the sweat and tears that come along with raising cattle. The price you see on the chalkboard does not touch the value of the hours and passion put into that animal. The producers believe in the value of the products they are giving you. You are enjoying the hard work of a dedicated and self-less couple who for 10 years have worked to make a Tuesday evening market a reality with no compensation other than the joy that comes from bettering their community. For them, that is priceless. With that thought in mind, here are three things about our market that I believe are priceless:
The food is simple. The market growers put a lot of thought into their farming practices, and they seek to grow food their family would feel good about eating.
The food is grown to be nutritious and strengthening for your family. Healthy soils creates healthy food, which translates over into healthy bodies. Speaking for our family, our goal is to start with the soil when it comes to your family’s health.
Price is something we try not to focus on at the market, but I do think it's important to educate consumers about why the prices at markets and farm stores vary from those in a standard grocery store. One, the quality is oftentimes superior because of the farming practices and the freshness of the products. More than that, direct market farmers run their products through formulas to find out what they need to charge based on their time, energy, and input costs. That's not happening in mainstream agriculture because farmers don't control their prices. The result is a broken system where farmers are barely breaking even or completely going under; while you are being conditioned to believe food should be cheap. The products at the market are not subsidized by the government which is another reason why farmers' markets lead to greater food security. I will dig a little deeper into this idea in a later blog post. Shopping at a market requires a different mindset than eating out or shopping at a standard grocery store. Let’s break this down- the average family of four spends at least $25 going through a fast food drive-thru, but for the price of two trips through a drive-thru you can get a week’s worth of tasty, wholesome meat for your family- a week of meat. What a blessing. I like that perspective. So now I must ask, what’s your perspective? When you are standing in the middle of the market center, looking around at the individuals and families growing your food, do you see what is going on behind the tents? Thank you to everyone who came out to the Tuesday night market, and thank you to the Saturday market regulars. You are a blessing to all of us! The Tuesday night market was relaxed and refreshing. We'd love to see you all again next week! If you are not a Neosho Farmers' Market regular, you can find the market across from the Newton County Library every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, and now on Tuesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. Follow them on Facebook to stay updated.
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Our Farm's Voice
Hello! I'm Madelaine Paige, and I'm so glad we've met. I love mornings, milk cows, and musings. Archives
July 2021
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