Farmers’ markets essential in pandemic
We’re so contained with COVID jitters and wearing masks that it seems we’ve widely ignored other issues of health security that come from, well, just being those of us who have to feed our families and ourselves. An example: This summer saw an outbreak of salmonella in 47 states from onions grown in California and more recently, peaches. A nationwide recall ensued, and as I stared news-alerted at a bowl of inviting yellow-orange peaches sitting on my kitchen table, I thought... what a waste. But no. I’d bought my onions and peaches and kale and radishes at my community farmers’ market in Danbury, not from the average 1,500 miles away that most food arrives from farm to table.
So I happily tossed some peach slices with a few bits of tinned Basque anchovies and habanero peppers from my sister’s garden to savor, and then thought about the farmers’ market that I take so often for granted. Why are farmers’ markets important or significant or simply fun to visit? And how are they impactful during this season of quarantine? And quite frankly, how can you, John Oliver, even try to throw Danbury into a Dumpster when we have such community treasures?
An essay titled
by Raymond Saul, posted on the Farmers Market Coalition website, cites the farmers’ market as “an American success story of renewal” (expanding from under 2,000 in 1994 to more than 8,600 markets registered in the USDA Farmers Market Directory today) and goes on to outline a farmers’ market’s distinction as not only a mercantile hub, but also as a social and civic gathering place. Add to that the ability of farmers’ markets to override food deserts, insecurity, and waste. Peggy Zamore, the director/nutritionist who helms the Danbury Farmers’ Market is proud of its 10 years of service. She says, “Our Farmers’ Market is essential. It has been especially nimble in this COVID time, always maintaining its core mission to achieve better health through the intensive community outreach of all of the food security incentive programs we run.”
Becky McCray of saveyour.town, one half of the impressive mid-West duo I’ve gotten to know who jump into small town dynamics and counsel community hand-in-hand efforts, says, “We all make our places every day by how we use them.” So I enjoy mingling with the folks who make my farmers’ market buzz: the producers, bakers, and makers of jam, the consumers toting home bags of ripeness and vitamins plus, and the hub-iness of it all. I like knowing that my cache of veggies comes from a
500-acre 8th- and 9th-generation run family farm in Southbury, about 13 miles away from Danbury as the crow flies, and that I can purchase made in New Milford, all natural, healthy nibbles for my friend’s dogs to enjoy on their next staycation. I know I’ll see a happy face or two while there, and I’ll giggle at the pride of knowing that the whole place is overlooked by none other than the 38-foot-tall statue of Uncle Sam that once stood proudly at the iconic Danbury State Fair.
As an avid believer in “the common good,” I can’t help but thank the CityCenter Farmers’ Market Community Collaborative and more than 30 invested stakeholders, including Fairfield County’s Community Foundation (to date, they have provided about
$300,000 to the collaborative) and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, for giving seniors and children, veterans and others who can’t easily feed their families or themselves — and yes, those of us who can — a place where there is always a smile, shared community, and a sense that the next normal will be wholesome and yummy.
When we can’t be as out-and-about as we’re used to, a farmers’ market is a great place to be. By the way, peaches are in season until the end of September.
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