THANK YOU, LINDEN!
Our final market of the season has arrived. Please join us as we celebrate our first season of farmers, food and community!
Please note that tomorrow's market will be open special hours - from 12-3 PM.
Before we go, here's a special "Labor Day Love Letter" from fellow Market Manager of Clintonville Farmers' Market, Michelle White.
Labor Day Love Letter
"Welcome to the "Labor Day Love Letter" edition of CFM's bi-monthly newsletter. I wanted to take a moment and speak from the heart about the dedication of those working in the local food system. At all levels, growing, moving, selling and preparing good food is nothing if not a task of love. Even though we are what we eat, and we eat (most of us, at least) three times a day, honest food has got to be one of the most undervalued commodities in the country.
By the time you take home a locally-grown heirloom tomato or dozen ears of corn from the grocery store, somewhere between 8 and 12 pairs of hands have touched that product. These include pickers, sorters, washers, packers, drivers, receivers, stockers, and cashiers. (I'm leaving out the folks that sowed the seed, watered, tended and weeded the plant.) And that's a tomato grown in Ohio. When you start to consider a California lemon or bag of coffee from Guatemala, well, you could easily double the hand count because those products likely traveled through one or two distribution companies. It's all pretty amazing, especially when that heirloom tomato rings up as $2.25.
I've worked at many points in the food chain: on the farm, for a local-food distributor, at a restaurant, and of course, at the market (a direct-to-consumer retailer). I often have sticker shock when it comes to food. How is it that an heirloom tomato can only cost $2.25? This delicate sun-ripened gem of a fruit is a literal back breaker. It demands hands-on care from the field all the way to the fork. Math is not my strong suit, but it seems fair to say, farmers aren't making a lot. They do give up a lot, however: employee benefits like regular paychecks, insurance and savings opportunities; summers; weekends; government crop subsidies.
I write all of this to bring home the point that food and farming (and the people involved) deserve our attention. These activities are at the crux of a multitude of urgent concerns: income inequality, the health of our land and soil, the strength of local economies, dietary diseases. And I know the phrase "buy local" has become a bit trite, but the act of doing so has not lost it's power. If you want our farmers - those that maintain a passion to provide us with honest food despite the long hours and little prospect for financial gain - to survive, shop at the market and opt for the local tomato at the grocery store. That one act on your part makes all the difference.
Being a good farmer is an art. It takes skill, patience, planning and adaptability. It is my hope that one day, along with being a labor of love, it will also be a valued profession. I envision a future where farmers will be compensated appropriately for their work due to the simple fact that we all rely on them. Everyday."
Our producers for market on Sunday, September 2 include:
Too Good Eats
Yia Yia's B.O. (Butters & Oils)
Jose Madrid Salsa
Heart of a Ryan Farm
Handy Treats
Double Comfort
Happy Toes Homestead
Columba’s Mexican Food
Midway Concessions
Mary’s Pies
Greater Columbus Growing Coalition
Aunt Vickie’s Pies
Columbus Canning
Kennedy Farms
Great River Organics
Seminary Hill Farm
Our Food Trucks: Ms. Ena's Outtaroad Food Truck
Our Community Artists: Attitude by Aishata and Harris Printing
Our Community Table: The Compost Exchange
Join us every Sunday through September 2 from 1-4 PM, rain or shine!
For more information, or questions related to any of our services, please contact us via email at lindenfarmersmarket@gmail.com.
