On Saturday I got to do something I've been dying to do for over a year ... took a trip to our local farmer's market! Between recovering from surgeries and being stuck indoors due to COVID, I have been suffering a serious case of farmer's market withdrawal. I was so happy to be back there this weekend that it was right up there with Christmas!
The first thing I noticed when we got there, which was right around the time that they opened, was that the parking lot was already packed with cars. I guess other people were as happy be there as I was. Then I remembered that this market had their 5th anniversary celebration on Friday which was shown on the local news, so perhaps more people were interested in checking it out. Once I started walking around, however, I noticed a few things that caught my attention. First, absolutely everything that was for sale was organic or made from organic ingredients, from the beautiful, big squash and luscious looking strawberries to the health and beauty products like soaps make from goat's milk and herbal tinctures. The baked goods, my personal favorites, were fresh and contained no preservatives or GMO's. The meat was pasture raised, and there were more plants for sale, especially vegetable and herbs, than I remembered. The other thing I noticed was the crowd itself. I listened to folks talking with each other about how the pandemic had given them an opportunity to delve into the world of healthier eating, growing their own food, and learning about natural alternatives to health care products. I am certainly not one to put labels on folks, but you could tell the dyed-in-the-wool, old-time naturalists from the newbies! I felt encouraged as I watched and listened to people experiencing the fruits of nature for the first time and saw them embrace the idea that they really did have a choice in how they wanted to live their lives.
Another thing I noticed was that the crop of early vegetables looked beyond healthy for so early in the growing season. That's when I found out that some vendors and farmers had spent the time in isolation using green houses and other indoor gardening options to grow their produce while waiting for the start of the outdoor growing season up here which is usually a little behind our neighbors to the south and west. What a joy to know that we can now have fresh produce all year long and it will all be organic and as close to nature as possible.
Every so often something good comes out of something bad. A fire can encourage new growth in a forest, and a pandemic can grow a new crop of people who want to take charge of their lives and change the way we think of food and health in this country. I am not suggesting that this horrible virus and the sorrow it has caused thousands of people was a good thing, but, thank heaven, some good things have come out of it. Perhaps we will finally start looking at how we live our lives a bit more closely, and start taking control of what we eat and where it comes from. This could be the start of a less consumer-oriented world and one that is founded on living our very best, and healthiest, lives.
And so it is.
