I recently had the great pleasure of being invited to attend a consultation on the growth of Winnipeg’s most prominent farmers market. The market is flourishing, and the meeting was called to brainstorm possible strategies for its future growth. The timeline was approximately the next 5 to 20 years.
Over the past 22 years I have watched the market grow.
First it was just a few vendors with some tables and trucks, eventually the site added large white canopies and some signage, and later it grew to include a section for picnic-table dining, even more vendors, and a platform for entertainers like musicians and fire eaters. The growth has been very organic and gradual…and the market has maintained its integrity –not only as a place you could go to get fresh strictly local produce– but as a place where you could go with your family, and everyone would find something to enjoy.My favorite vendor has always been Phil the honey guy.
Phil always struck me as a quiet guy, certainly we never exchanged more than a handful of words over the years, but his honey was top quality and his beeswax candles -which I bought as often as I could- were a staple on my yearly Christmas wish list. In the early years I watched Phil stand there alone, smiling contently. Later he was occasionally joined by a pretty lady… and slowly there appeared little photos of a baby boy, followed by a girl. This summer his little boy, now around 8, was playing violin for pocket change next to his Dad’s honey truck. I felt a connection to Phil, so when he asked me to attend this consultation, I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d been a customer of the market for so long, or because I had travelled internationally (and I’d seen a lot of different farmers' markets)…but I was thrilled to go.
The presentation was made by what appeared to be a professional marketing firm. They unveiled a three-phase plan for the market. It included a permanent open-sided structure (modelled after a market in a nearby American city), and then two phases of add-ons. It included an orchard and the possibility of a permanent commercial tenant – to financially support the market infrastructure in the months of the year when the farmers market was not active.
After the initial presentation, we broke off into a series of groups and had round-table discussions around each possible phase of development-allowing everyone to express his or her concerns and ideas. The mix at the event was interesting… members of the Market Board, vendors/farmers, representatives of nearby businesses, a couple politicians and a sprinkling of interested patrons like myself. The facilitators -of which there were three- were a blend of A) the “idea” guy/team lead, B) the keen young guy who genuinely wanted our thoughts and C) the ‘warm-fuzzy woman’, who was a slightly disturbing blend of concern for political correctness (given the cultural sensitivity of the historic site) and corporate mentality about the concept of “brand.”
The afternoon was a mixed bag of concerns. Would there be increased access to water and electricity for the vendors? What about bathrooms? Parking? How much more is it going to cost us? There were small side conversations about how people felt about dogs at the market, and would they have uniform stall-coverings or was there still room for self-expression? Would they control how many people sold non-food products, and how would vendors be grouped (if they should at all). And of course, the issue of loading and unloading…the romantic vision of a farmer pulling up his rickety old beater and unloading a dusty crate of potatoes isn’t exactly the way these things work anymore…
I found myself wondering…if the trend in Canadian farming is that more and more yard lights are going out across rural areas, (the 2001 census indicated that over one-third of Canadian farmers were 55 or older and approaching retirement)…should we really be planning for growth at all? Is it possible that this is the golden age of the market? And even if we can expect growth, would it really make the market better? It’s already really great! Yes, there’s a waiting list to be a vendor, wonderful! Let them replace ones that leave! The lady Irene, who made the most amazing vinetarte and krystike (someone who can make good Icelandic AND Ukrainian delicacies is forever on my respect list), had not been there for a while…but someone was in her ‘spot’.
They discussed maybe expanding the days of the week that it was active (it is presently only a full market on Saturday, and a partial market one evening a week)…and that is when I heard the most important things I would hear that day. “If I have to be here more than once a week I will not have time to farm.” “I don’t want to hire someone to work here for me.” It wasn’t that they were being cheap, but that expansion would mean the loss of the farmer-customer relationship. I go to the farmers market because I want to ask them if they use chemicals, or if the bees were affected by the colony collapse crisis, or what wood they use to smoke their pickerel with. I want to pick up something weird and ask how I cook it, and I want to watch the man or woman, with the rough, calloused hands, glow as they tell me that it’s best steamed or baked or fried with butter and garlic. I cherish the moment when they grab handfuls of freshly picked pea pods, plop it onto their manual scale-tap the lever to the side, and then tell me the bag is only $2…and then they throw in a couple more peas and smile-just because. It’s so…real. Real people, real food, real…life.
I don’t care if the market expands. I want the farmers to do whatever will make them happy. Maybe the achievement is not in expanding, but in increasing satisfaction. Increasing happiness. Keeping it real.
That’s why I go to the farmers market. Sure, buying local seasonal food is stellar, but for me, it’s also about relationships. Connecting with people, buying real food, and sharing real, beautiful, life.
0 comments:
Post a Comment