J.R. Briggs

Top 10 Reasons I’m excited for the Lansdale Farmers Market to start

May 3, 2010

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The Lansdale Farmers Market had a fantastic inaugural season last year. I’m excited to see this year’s Market to open June 12th (about 5 weeks away!) It was a great experience for vendors, borough officials, volunteers, vendors and customers.

Last year the location was at Railroad Plaza right next to the train station, but due to construction on Wood Street it has been moved to Vine Street (right next to borough hall) just two blocks away.

Here are the top 10 reasons I’m excited for the Lansdale Farmer’s Market to start (in no particular order):

1. Meeting new people. I love settings to naturally meet new people (neighbors, Lansdale residents and vendors) in my community and the LFM provides a great venue for connection.

2. Seeing old friends. There is nothing so refreshing than to bump into old friends in town on a Saturday morning. Hugs, handshakes, high fives, smiles. Sociologist Ray Oldenberg in his incredibly insightful book The Great Good Place writes about the importance of “third places” in culture. First place is your home, second place is your work, but third place allows for that social interaction with others where connection happens (think Central Perk in the popular television show Friends or the entire concept of the show Cheers). Third places create and cultivate culture in communities around the world. The LFM is a temporary third place with incredible social connection power.

3. It’s great to know the person who grew the ingredients that are in your dinner. Seriously. Is it just me or does the food taste better when I’ve talked to the vendor who picked it from his field that morning? When Thad Jett sells me tomatoes that he grew or Eric Saxman sells me bread that he backed that morning, could it possibly taste any better? Amazing. No pesticides, no preservatives. Just nature’s best. Buy fruits and vegetables Saturday morning. Eat them for dinner on Saturday evening.

4. Enjoying local culture. Experiencing a local farmers market is one of the greatest evidences of culture in your area. The colors, the smells, the sounds. Live music. Kids playing. Parents pushing strollers. Fresh coffee in hand. Food samples available. Good times.

5. Buying fresh, healthy, tasty food. (see #3 above). Last summer I ate as healthily as I ever have. I want that to continue. I think Jamie Oliver’s hit TV show Food Revolution and books like Michael Pollan’s Food Rules are becoming popular because people are starting to care more about what they put into their bodies. (Although the Snickerdoodles from Caleb at the Tabora Farm Market table is hard to pass up!)

6. Getting out and enjoying a good Saturday morning. Its a great excuse to get out and walk around (even if you don’t buy anything). Its great to see activity happening in the borough on Saturday mornings.

7. Being exposed to new foods and products. Some vendors introduced me to some vegetables last year I’d never heard of before. I got an education on some produce, that’s for sure.

8. Learning about the seasons of produce. Last year I asked for corn in July and strawberries in October. I learned that this isn’t how the seasons work. Learning the seasons – and eating to the seasons – is a good form of stewardship and understanding rhythm and timing. I hope to learn more this Market season.

9. It’s run by volunteers and is a true community event. Nobody is “on staff” at the market. It was initiated by The Renew Community but it takes dozens of volunteers working almost around the calendar year to pull it off.

10. It provides opportunities for the underprivileged to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. The LFM isn’t just for meat-avoiding, hybrid-driving yuppies. The LFM participates in the WIC Program (which stands for Women, Infants and Children – its essentially the food stamp program) to provide opportunities for the under-resources to shop healthily. I love that this exists and gives opportunity for everyone to have access to good food.

We started the LFM as a way to serve the community in a simple and practical way. It seemed it scratched where people were itching, so to speak. It has been – and continues to be – amazing to see the community rally around this and support this effort. So many people in Lansdale and the area are serving to see this be a great upcoming season.

Check out the Lansdale Farmers Market website here for updates, announcement of the new location, a list of vendors or to find out how you can volunteer at the market. You can also check out photos from last year’s market, see newspaper articles and if you’re a vendor you can download an application to sell your goods. The LFM also has a Facebook account and is also on Twitter so you can follow for updates.

And if you live in the North Penn region you really need to make it a regular part of your week to hit the Farmers Market.

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