Goals for this season

It’s that time of year again. Opening day is Saturday March 25 and we are so excited. This is our 3rd season managing the market and watching it grow. We have seen vendors come and go, cheered as they opened their own shops or went on to manage their own markets and gotten to see support for what we are doing grow. We want every year to be an improvement. For the past 2 years we focused on vendor and customer growth and while that remains a goal, this year we want to really buckle down and grow our local food community. Last year with the droughts and heat so many people we depended on to bring produce to the market were unable to come. Our big dream has always been that we would be a space where people would come do their grocery shopping and not be dependent on local grocery stores. Sadly, that didn’t happen. We realized we needed more people growing and raising food. We need backyard chickens and porch container gardens. We need to find those people who grow more than they can share with their neighbors. We live in a rural area, they exist. And then, once we start getting all of that gathered, we need to help teach people how to prepare these local foods. Cooking demos and classes, recipe cards and books and conversations about why eating local is what will help our community and economy. We return to the work of studying the daily lives of our grandparents and great grandparents who lived through economic depressions, food rationing and lean times. We do this not because we fear going hungry, but because of the abundant satisfaction that comes with knowing we can feed ourselves and help someone else do the same. Yes, we have farmers market events and we work to make them as fun and inviting as possible, but at the end of the day our mission is to localize our food system which will help our community weather economic storms. If you are interested in helping, promoting, or just want to be present in this adventure, come to the market on Saturdays, connect with us on Facebook or Instagram or send us an email at palestinefarmersmarket@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you!