Friday, February 12th, 2010...6:00 am
Does the Farmer’s Market Value Education and Inspiration?
As you probably could have guessed, I am a die hard Farmer’s Market fan. Unless I have too much work to do, I am there – rain or shine. It’s my happy place. Farmers are proud of their crops, customers chat about delicious food and compare recipes, and there are loads of delicious samples to taste.
Johan, my apple vendor and long-time friend, has been asking when I’ll be a part of the market, dispensing advice to parents about how to involve their children in the kitchen – or spreading the gospel of how to make kale chips. Bad news, Johan – the market won’t allow me in.
I need to interrupt myself for a moment. It’s time that I confront one of my personality flaws. Instead of avoiding conflict, I think I’ll embrace it. Right here, in this post. (Just don’t tell the farmer’s market.)
But before I begin my rant, I should start by saying that I love the Marin Farmer’s Market. Fresh fish from Pat, veggies galore from Andrew, soup to die for from Deborah, and amazing tamales from…the tamale guy. And I am so proud of you for accepting food stamps, reducing waste, and giving tours to school children.
So, where was I? Oh, right. The farmer’s market won’t allow me to set up shop and help families learn how to use market produce with their children.
But they welcome entertainers, such as the puppet lady whose furry companions dance to the tunes from Sesame Street. And they have jumpy houses…two of them. Maybe the board of directors thinks that these types of entertainment will entice moms and caregivers to come to the market. My farmer friends tell me that it works: they come, get a cup of coffee and a pastry or waffle, watch the show and bounce around in the jumpy. And then they leave, without buying any produce. Some parents that I have spoken with say that they avoid bringing their children altogether. The jumpy is too much of a distraction and prevents them from getting their shopping done.
Even though I am complaining a little, I don’t have anything against puppet artists or bouncy houses. They are fun. And the Farmer’s Market’s policy clearly states that they “enjoy clowns or any entertainment for children and families.” Their policy also says that they have “extremely limited spaces for commercial vendors. The commercial vendors we currently have at our markets are an enhancement to the atmosphere and overall market experience.” I see how I wouldn’t fit in there – I would only be helping families become better customers at the farmer’s market. And I would be inspiring kids to cook and eat healthy and seasonal food. That wouldn’t enhance the market experience at all.
Silly me, for even trying.
24 Comments
February 12th, 2010 at 7:46 am
I’d say they’re missing out on a great opportunity to engage young shoppers with fresh produce and real food while showing them how to use it. It seems like a no brainer to me. But what do I know?
February 12th, 2010 at 8:03 am
I agree with Amy. They’re missing out, and instead of encouraging people to buy fresh produce, they’re encouraging them to buy already-made goods and to enjoy a puppet show. What happened to cooking and learning how to use ingredients? What is the world coming to?
February 12th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Thanks Amy and Kamran.
They have very strict rules about who can be there. For the most part, it’s people who have grown or made the products, themselves. But then, they allow a knife sharpener (who did a great job on my knives, by the way). He has a craft that is related to the market. It makes sense for him to be there. I would categorize myself with him – I have a craft related to the market. I teach families how to interact with the market. How to buy, prepare, and cook the produce with their children. Not sure how they can choose puppets over that…
Michelle
February 12th, 2010 at 8:52 am
That makes absolutely no sense! Jumpy houses and puppeteers are all well and good but it seems to me that the primary mission of a farmers’ market is to support local producers and educate the public about the fresh alternatives to supermarkets. Our market features a kids’ cooking event every Sunday, something that fosters a lifelong skill and appreciation of good food and cookery. Your FM is being so shortsighted about your contribution!
February 12th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I say, keep fighting the good fight! Why not get a list of signatures together saying they want you to offer entertaining games for kids to learn about food? Why not try another market? I think this is such a great and important idea. Keep fighting!
February 12th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
I am really surprised because I would have thought that the markets would have banned the puppeteers and allowed something food-related instead. What about getting behind the stand of your friends and have a “demo” show on how to cook apples/kale/zucchinis? Sure, some people could think of it as “marketing for your friend’s produces” but hey, that would be a start, no?
February 13th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
How strange. Don’t they ever have chefs give demos at the market? I was going to suggest what Gaelle did, giving a demo from a vendor’s stand — then, you’re just helping them sell…
——
The chef demos are only at the Sunday market. I see myself as a teacher, not a chef – so they are a little funky about that…
Thanks C – One of my vendors actually offered to have me help at his booth, by giving advice. He felt that if I was part of his booth that the market couldn’t complain
xo
Michelle
February 14th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Thanks Gaelle. You and Colleen are on the same track! One of my vendors actually offered to have me help at his booth, by giving advice. He felt that if I was part of his booth that the market couldn’t complain He refers people to me when I am there almost every week, anyway. I would just hate to think that he would be reprimanded – but if I add value to his booth and he has invited me, I am not sure that the market would have the grounds to ask me to stop. It’s nutty, really!
February 14th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! Have you talked to someone on the board? I would start with someone at the top – have them look you face to face and explain why having that kind of experience would not benefit the market.
You can also to our Portland Farmer’s Market. Other than live music there is no entertainment – they provide fun educational experiences for children rather than the random act of energy-burning bouncy houses.
Last year we went to an event where the kids had a scavenger hunt around the market and actually had to talk to the growers to complete it. They introduced the kids to beets by having them make a beet & apple salad right there – my kids ask for this all the time now. http://ow.ly/17i9c
I can get you in touch with people on our board if you think it’ll help. I love your idea and want to see you there making a difference.
Thanks Gina – they have their rules…most of which make sense. But this market group has a reputation for politics. We’ll see what happens – you know that I’ll keep y’all posted!
February 14th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
What could be more important than educating the next generation? Learning what to do with all the beautiful produce is part of the big picture. Let your public know what we can do to encourage the market to allow you in.
Thank you Diane – it means a lot, especially from someone in the nutrition industry like you! I’ll keep you posted. I can’t wait to see what the two of us “cook up” in our community
February 15th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Michelle,
Petition! I can’t tell you how many people would benefit from you teaching kids how to enjoy the “real” part of the farmers market. Why don’t you ask if you can be there to give “learning tours with kids” on the hour, or on the 1/2 hour? You would be more like an information booth, but an educator for the market? This would be an amazing job for you and fill an amazing need. Once a day, you could run the scavenger hunt with the kids, and get kids and parents to sign up, or have helpers to come and help you just for the hunt. Parents could shop, and kids would have something fun to do while the parents shop? There are so many ways the Farmer’s Market could take advantage of you as an educator, in a positive way for our community. How can I help?
-Colleen
February 15th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Thanks Colleen. You are so kind. That would be super fun to do scavenger hunts with the kids. I see lots of school groups at the market, mostly led by parents. I wonder if the market gives them scavenger hunt questions to use or if they make up their own? I made a really fun scavenger hunt that I used with my JCC summer campers (http://whatscookingblog.com/2009/08/07/summer-fun-farmers-market-scavenger-hunt/) – they loved it and had fun talking to the vendors. It is interesting how the market doesn’t have an “education” category for their booths…Food for thought
xo
M
February 16th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
What is it that you want to bring to the market? You haven’t even shared that yet? How will you teach parents and children to eat and cook better when there are hundreds maybe thousands of non-profits already trying to do that? And how do you plan on drawing in these unknowing parents, when there are jumpies and waffles to distract them?
February 16th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Michelle,
I think this is a great idea, but you know how inertia is in any organization – maybe they don’t have a checkbox on the form for “family market intro” or something.
Seriously, what I don’t get here is a clear reason why they said no. Do you have specifics? Makes it easier to counter their refusal if you can fix a few things rather than just go up against a “Nah, you can’t.”
I like the idea of piggy-backing onto a farmer who is already there (if you can do it w/o them getting into trouble). Or could you tie-in to holidays at first so they get used to you? Or get 4H/school sponsorship? Would it help to have letters of support? or…? You have people who have your back, and arguments to help you with the FM folk. Let us know how we can help, even if it’s only brainstorming in comments.
ps – the anon person above me who wants specifics of what you would do…You have lots of great ideas: Scavenger hunts? Demos? Tastings? Do you have an idea of a lesson plan for if they say yes? (Because we’re gonna help you get them to say yes.)
February 16th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Would this be easier if you did education but also had a product? Could you technically be a product vendor of t-shirts, aprons, or kid-sized market baskets…but also/mostly do education.
February 16th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Try the nearby Petaluma Farmer’s Market. Not as big as Marin. What you do is so interesting and needed. Half the battle is buying the fresh & healthy produce & proteins which is getting easier to do all the time; the other half is where most of us lose it…what to do with it once you get it home!
We are filming an Eco Beeps episode at a nearby Farmer’s Market- not sure which one yet- but perhaps you could stop by and give our Eco Beeps…p u p p e t s… a cooking lesson when we film. Hi to Diane Fischler!
February 16th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
KitchenMage: great ideas – but no, having a product would actually make it harder. They really want vendors to either grow or make their own products, which I can really respect. But education is a little more vague than that, since it can’t be “made or grown.” But it is certainly valuable and worthy of sharing, especially in that type of venue, where people already want to do the right thing but might not know how.
Charles: How awesome! I would love to do a segment teaching your puppets how to cook. The idea reminds me of a recent episode of Sesame Street where Michelle Obama teaches them how to grow vegetables!
Anonymous: Thanks for the thought provoking questions. I appreciate being challenged – sometimes I think my blog must not be interesting enough to invoke discussion like this! I think that if parents knew that there were educational opportunities for their children at the market, they might participate. Maybe even if they could drop by a booth and pick up a scavenger hunt to do together, they would be inclined to bring their child into the market (to taste the produce and talk to the vendors) instead of staying on the periphery where the entertainment is located. There is a wealth of amazing talent here, in Marin, who would probably all love to have the opportunity to help parents know how to use the produce or offer them fresh ideas. I am just one of many educators who would enjoy this opportunity. I would also love the chance to let kids use a variety of cooking tools on the produce that the vendors might otherwise discard. Playing with food is a fantastic way for kids to get excited and enthusiastic about cooking at home. In response to your question about how I would get families to eat better (even though others are trying to do the same thing) – I would engage them. There is nothing quite like a personal connection to get you thinking. I have fun with kids. I make them laugh. I encourage them to play, taste, cook, learn…It’s a far cry from a face-less campaign of “Eat Better.”
February 17th, 2010 at 7:40 am
Assuming that their main concern is that you’re not a non-profit and just a business who’d get free publicity, what if you instead proposed a “kids at market” series. You could sketch out an outline where each week/month there was a different activity, all connected to food — storytime, cooking lesson, potting plants, etc. — and you would just be one of several sponsors/presenters.
Awesome idea, Colleen! It will be interesting to see if anyone at the market knows about this conversation when I go there tomorrow morning. Maybe it will open things up for a discussion, at least. At this point, it’s the principle of the thing…and how to prioritize education.
February 17th, 2010 at 8:54 am
Hi All,
What great discussion. I can feel your passion for our farmers and our markets and that feels great. I’m with the Marin Agricultural Institute that runs 9 markets in the bay area including the Civic Center ones and from what I’ve read here I think what you offer is a perfect fit for us Michelle. I don’t know what happened in the process, I had the staff look for your application but can’t find it anywhere. We do over 90 tours a year for schools, we do scavenger hunts, chefs demos, we do farm tours, we go to the schools and talk about California Ag, we pride ourselves on building our education programs. But there are miles to go and we would love the help. I don’t know what happened in the process but, Let’s start over and see what we can make happen. I’d love to see kids learning to cook at the market. I’ll be at the market tomorrow, ask at the information and we can talk further. Thanks for supporting local farmers!
February 17th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Thank you Brigitte! I’ll be at the market tomorrow. I am excited because my kids don’t have school, and I really want to introduce my daughter to Pat, the man who we buy our fish from. He is fantastic and has offered to show her how to clean some fish!
I’ll be sure to come by and see you – and we can see if we can come up with some fun plans to integrate my experience and passion into the market
February 17th, 2010 at 9:40 am
Sounds like this all got sorted out, but perhaps you could where a clown outfit *while* you taught the classes? Makes salads *in* in the jumpy castle? Stir soup *as* you tap dance?
February 17th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Michelle- got your email. Thanks. I’ll be in touch as we get closer to a filming schedule.
It looks like a happy ending for your Farmer’s Market dilemma. It pays to speak up! Good for you.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Oh, forgot to add, we are @EcoBeeps on Twitter.
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Hi Bridgitte – I have looked for you at the market for 2 weeks. Maybe tomorrow will be the charm
Can’t wait to talk with you about any productive role I can play in the market.
Leave a Reply