Michael Ward’s Produce Stand

Every Sunday night, I take the garbage can to the end of the drive for pick up on Monday.  A couple of weeks ago, someone hit it with their car and cut it open.  That person stopped to make sure it was intact and standing for the garbage truck, which was very nice.  However, I still needed to buy a new can to replace the broken one.  When I got back from work later that afternoon, I stopped to pick up the old, empty can to take it back to the house. Amazingly, the person who hit my can bought me a brand new one and left it at the end of my drive. I think I stood there for a full minute, completely shocked.

I’ve never lived in a place where things like this happen. It’s such an antithesis to all the bad news we hear every day. People in the community are looking out for each other. There’s no doubt, I love living here.

A sense of community is one thing that makes a place livable. When Vicki Robin, author of Your Money or Your Life, spoke at the Slow Food Roots Music Festival, she said that when she bought her food from farmers within 10 miles of her home, it gave her, for the first time, a sense of place.  I often overhear people at the farmers market asking vendors where they are located, associating the place with the food.

Strawflowers Outstanding in Their Field

Knowing my farmers and buying my food from them connects me to my neighbors.  When I drive past those open fields on my way to and from work, I know who is growing crops, who is planting trees, and who is raising livestock there. The names of the farms are part of my neighborhood description and I point them out to visitors every chance I get.

The Farmers Market does more than acquaint me with my farmers. It becomes a forum where our community gathers, talks, and laughs together. I connect with those that I would otherwise rarely see. The market makes me break from my work-a-day world and reconnect with my community. I learn about upcoming events, find local books freshly published, and listen to local musicians as I shop. Stores in the vicinity reap the benefits of the greater mass of shoppers, while farmers find more outlets for their produce. In many towns, the farmers market has become a centralizing energy, an attracting force that helps to create a more livable and walk-able central core.

The Port Susan Farmers Market is about more than just buying food. It’s about experiencing the best of our community.