We’re re-sharing this nice piece from our friends at Mill City Farmers Market – one of the local markets where we found our community, experimented with our recipes and were encouraged to create the ready-to-eat versions for stores. Our fellow makers and the visitors to these markets still get us out of bed early on weekends, nourish our souls and inspire us to keep going. Basically without the farmers markets, we wouldn’t exist. We encourage you to support your local food and maker communities at your local markets. They’re good for you, each other and our planet!
From MCFM: It’s National Farmers Market Week! Every August around the country we celebrate Farmers Market Week, and this year’s theme is farmers markets don’t just happen.
Farmers markets are abundant sources of food, connection and resilience in our communities, but they don’t just happen on their own. Behind the scenes of every successful farmers market is a dedicated person or team working to make the market thrive. These farmers market operators are experts who need community and financial support to run their markets and resources specifically designed for their needs.
At Mill City this includes our yellow-vested staff (who are at the market every Saturday before 6am!), Zero Waste volunteers, board members, donors and other partners who make our market and non-profit Charitable Fund thrive. It also includes our loyal grocery shoppers and vendors–some who have been with us since the beginning in 2006 and many who are just launching their businesses.
Farmers markets are more than our individual supporters, we serve as community hubs. Farmers markets foster direct relationships between community members and farmers which can work to create a more fair and sustainable food system. Farmers markets are also a hub for connection and collective action around shared values. At Mill City we’re working to support a healthier community through partnerships like our Greens for Good food donation program, educational programming like our chef-led cooking demos and nutrition internship, and support for organic farmers and local food producers with our Next Stage Grant program.
