I’m a busy mom. And with two kids constantly clinging to me, getting out to do anything is difficult. Grocery shopping is the worst. Managing a high-energy three year old and an infant who insists on being carried all the time while pushing a shopping cart usually just isn’t worth the effort. Add to that the dirty looks I get from strangers if my children make any noise whatsoever, and the choice is clear. Children and grocery stores are a bad combination. I’ll go to the store at midnight as long as I can go without the kids. Finding food for the family at the supermarket is not a family affair.
So that is partly why I find trips to the local farmer’s market so fascinating. Amidst booth after booth of fresh from the farm produce, artisan cheeses, and grass fed meats is an experience the whole family can participate in. At one end of the market there are the puppies from the local animal shelter, eager for children to play with them (and convince mom and dad to take them home). At the other end a live band plays and daring couples and uninhibited children take to the dance floor. In between one can make a meal out of piping hot empanadas, gourmet pizzas, and fairly traded coffee. Children are present and welcomed in this setting. The market isn’t just a place to shop for food; it is a gathering of a community. Relaxed and fun, it’s an experience not just an ordeal.
Naturally, it would be the farmer’s market where something as organic as family connections can thrive. Although I do shop at supermarkets, there is little by way of connection there. Packaged and processed food made to look perfect and convenient represents an economic transaction generally devoid of personality. One doesn’t know where the food is coming from, how the earth was treated to obtain it, or why we should celebrate it at all. But at the farmer’s market I can hear exactly how a jar of peach preserves was made and share a taste of it with my daughter. I can be with others who care deeply for this earth and want to demonstrate that through the food they buy. And I can model for my children that buying produce and meat produced in sustainable and ethical ways is part of what it means to me to love God – by taking care of his creation.
So as often as I can on Saturday mornings, I want to take the kids with me to the farmer’s market. They are welcome there in a place where life is respected and cherished. They are the future and I can encourage them towards environmental responsibility by joining them in celebrating the bounty of the earth today.