Fertile Ground USA...Celebrating the people behind the plow

by sara b. franklin

 We started a new farmers market in Northampton! Well, I shouldn’t really say we. My boss, Ben, did almost all of the organizing and PR necessary to get a new market off the ground- man is it a lot of work!

From interviews on the radio to flyers, from sandwich boards to recruiting vendors, starting a new market is no joke.  Ben was wired all weekend, buzzing around, running on adrenaline and very little sleep. Come Tuesday morning, he was up at the crack of dawn, harvesting.  Oona and I finished off the harvest all morning in unusually hot September temperatures, and then used our spiffy bike trailer to haul the produce back to their house to wash and pack, and then off we went. You should have seen us! Ben and I, rolling down the main drag of Northampton on bikes equipped with hundreds of pounds of produce, our EZ Up tent, cash boxes, bushel baskets, and tables for display.  We rolled into town just as the first vendor was showing up at the pedestrian walkway we had reserved for the market, and I scrambled frantically to set up and go retrieve our produce labels from the copy shop while Ben fluttered around, talking to vendors and working out logistics with the parking commissioner. 

 3 o’clock arrived with shoppers anxiously awaiting the go ahead. And what a first day it was! There was hardly a minute without a sale happening which, for a first day of a small weekday market, seemed like quite an accomplishment. With aching feet and a mind fried from making too much change, I made it to 7’oclock, just as the sun was beginning to sink.  And let me tell you, there’s nothing you want to do less after a busy market than pack up and ride a bike home in the dark. But Oona, Ben, and I managed to get all the spare produce back into crates and Ben and I carefully pedaled back to the house.

 I fell asleep exhausted but exhilarated. People were so excited! Expressions of gratitude came at us right and left from folks thrilled we were introducing such a welcoming and exciting community event.  I forgot what a proud rush it is to interact firsthand with customers as they wow over the produce that I helped to grow.  People were so amazed by the bike trailers, and expressed curiosity and amazement that there was a chemical-free farm right in the heart of their town (who knew?). One thing I never tired of was declaring to people that no, we don’t use pesticides and yes, you can walk and bike to us. 

The Tuesday Market may have just begun, but my commitment to small-scale family owned farms has been growing deeper and stronger for years now.  Tuesday afternoon was just another reminder of how important the work of farmers is, and how much joy and unity can build around sharing healthy, sustainably-grown food.

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