Raise the Hammer

I buy at the Farmers Market, make the trip from Burlington once a week. This has been a change in shopping habits from the past 20 years of living here. But the Eat Local, Eat Organic and Slow Food movements have educated me and I have become a 'food activist' with as much of my family's food budget as I can. I try to get to know the Buttrums, Williams, Fleetwood farms (cider makers), Maria at the Fair Trade coffee stall, and others. I try to know them by name if I can. I go back to the same vendor for the same produce each week. I ask for local chicken, beef, cheese and eggs. I look for whatever vegetables from storage and buy them, even if it's not going to be as popular at home to have squash one more time! Some suggestions to make it likely there will be more shoppers like me: - have a market policy to clearly identity the growers from the resellers, so we can knowinglyi choose to buy from a grower - a name badge would be nice so we food activists can get to know you - enforce the rules for number of stalls a reseller can rent, under whatever name they go by (some have several stalls, under different names or no name at all) - growers could get simple standard labels for all displayed produce that shows LOCAL and/or ORGANIC. - don't go Toronto yuppy, gentrifying what is going to come crashing down. The Market is about local food security, not a 'food shopping experience', but do get good signage: clean, legible, and maybe the market could provide the sign blanks with a crisp identity graphic - growers could start investigating in four season harvest methods using passive solar greenhouses, high tunnels, etc and bring in more produce, or buy it from local producers who do grow for the off season.

I look forward to chatting next time you're on the stand, Gary B!

Ian Sustainable Burlington Citizens Group www.burlingtoncan.relocalize.net