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We missed the opening day of my favorite farm market last week, something to which I haven't totally come to terms. I'm planning to make up for it tomorrow, though, and the family has been put on alert that as soon as the last morsel of breakfast passes their lips we are heading out. Because I am being vehement in a way that I usually reserve for, say, contract negotiations or vacation planning, no one is quite sure what to make of my enthusiasm.
The truth of the matter is that I've become enamored with the idea of a 100 Mile Diet. I love the farm market for its retro charm - something that fits in quite well with my general inclination toward old furniture, big band music and dusty used book stores. But I like shopping farm markets because I find that my values are increasingly aligned with its presence in my community, what with my growing interest in relocalization (not just because of oil-related stuff - although that's certainly SUPER IMPORTANT enough to warrant capital letters - but also because I think that close communities are healthier than what we've currently got going). And if one is to not eat anything that one's great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food then a farm market really comes in handy. And "mine" is great - produce, dairy, meat, honey, breads...it's all fab and I am deeply in love enough to go even when the forecast calls for rain, as it does for tomorrow.
I'm careful to temper my enthusiasm, though. I think there's a real danger that beleaguered moms could (fairly) regard farm markets as just another stop they're being asked to make "for the children" in addition to all the other places we (as a society) believe they should be going, and one more stop for which the time needed to accomplish it will further eat (ha!) into the available time for actually preparing the fresh, organic stuff purchased.
Moreover, I'm concerned about the trend toward markets-as-entertainment. My market has musicians serenading, a children's activity tent, pony rides and more. Now, don't get me wrong, this is all fun stuff. The danger is that using these methods to attract families back to farm markets (and I do hope it's families who are being attracted and not just moms) could serve to reinforce the idea that many people have acquired that food should be entertainment delivered upon them and not something in which they should take an active interest for their own health and that of their communities. (For similar reasons, I cringe at in-store child play centers being installed in my local supermarkets. Sure, I love a few quite moments as much as the next woman and, if they come in the canned soup section, so what? But I fear that taking such quiet moments will only remove my kids further from the source of their food, not to mention eliminating them from a very important economic and financial function. We've all heard our older relatives talking about the price of bread back in 1948, for example. If our kids are sequestered in play areas - sponsored by processed food manufacturers, natch - will they have such an economic memory? Or will they more likely grow up lacking the ability to compare the then vs. now of the economy they'll inherit?)
So I'm taking my kids (and husband) tomorrow, in the rain. And we'll together choose bread, eggs, chicken, bison, cream (raw?! yum) and lots of radishes and greens to get us through the coming week. The children will enjoy a slice of cinnamon bread and Brainiac will buy a cup of coffee. We'll all carry a (brought from home) bag and work together to put our purchases away. It'll be a pleasant way to spend an hour or so as a family but, more important, it's an investment in the way I hope our lives will unfold and I cannot wait.
6 comments:
We just moved to a rural southern town last month. Tomorrow we are going with 5 kids in tow (2 kids added recently) to the farmers market for the first time. Different neighbors have recommended each of the three local markets, but one of my kids met someone whose family sells at one of the markets and got her all excited about going. I'm looking forward to the fresh strawberries.
Perhaps instead of being ruffled by the amusements at the local farmers market (or the childcare center at the grocery store) you could see them for what they are: another way for members of families to have a productive and enjoyable time, mothers included. I appreciate your position, but not everyone enjoys food shopping, especially with children, and with you it sounds like a forced march. As a topic of conversation, you could ask your kids how they feel about such things.
Meg - what did you get yesterday? I bought some chorizo and bison, cheese and honey. A good day.
Anon - I hope you didn't go anon just because you were leaving a challenging comment. Rest assured that I don't require sycophancy here.
On the matter of the comment itself, I'm a bit puzzled. I'm not sure how kids play spaces in grocery stores lead to productive time for every family member involved in the outing. Hanging out in a play zone sponsored by larger food packagers doesn't actually strike me as productive as, say, helping mom with a not well-liked but necessary task. Moreover, kids (mine, too!) actually do enjoy being included in the daily business of grown-ups. Potter Barn wants a few hundred dollars for a play kitchen; I prefer to take my children shopping and teach them how to operate in a *real* kitchen. Furthermore, my point is not that shopping needs or ought to be a "forced march" but rather that including kids in the processes of shopping and cooking contributes toward giving them the tools to manage their own impending adult lives. Leaving them out of food acquisition further isolates them from its sources and leaves them even more vulnerable to large corporations that do not have their best interests at heart. Shopping with one's children is an act of love, not martyrdom.
The market was great. I gave each kid $2 to buy what they wanted, and everyone gives out samples too. I bought strawberries, garlic hummus, fresh eggs and some flowers. Each kid spent their money as a true show of their personality--one bought cookies, one experimented with a nutty gelato thing, another bought cucumbers and grape tomatoes, another pink flowers, and one bought a watermelon. An eclectic group. Its worth the $10 just to see what they will find worthy of buying. It was interesting that the two children we just adopted were very hesitant to spend their money at all, for fear they may not get more. We are still breaking them into family life. I also found a real butchershop a few miles from my house. He sells nothing but beef, pork and poultry raised within 20 miles of his shop. I'm liking this small town thing.
As usual, I am right down the middle...I admit to using the play center at our local groceyr store. (I am actually friends with the manager there, who is almost always the person on staff.) However, my kids always have the option to shop with me and are sometimes "forced" depending on my mood. I do like them to have an understanding of food/cost/etc. and find that shopping is a good way to help them with this.
Wow, I'd forgotten about the supermarkets with the kid centers. I've only ever seen one in a store in the mid-Atlantic. Never anywhere in California, and not here in New England thus far. My son is in an extremely uncooperative stage, and I'd give my left arm (from the elbow down) to have a way to grocery shop in peace for a change! (I had been doing my shopping while he was at school in the mornings, but I reclaimed the mornings as my personal time to write, surf the net, keep personal appointments, etc. and now do errands when he is home. So I pay the price for my own selfishness. But I'd still love a play center!)
And Anonymous - you clearly don't know Marsha well enough! She truly does welcome your comment and any discourse that would follow. And she's the last parent on earth I'd accuse of forcing her children into anything (other than good manners!)
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