Farmers Market on Saturday

This morning Mom and I went to the Farmers Market in town. The market is located in the heart suburb-- by the library and city park. There were rows and rows of tents where people sold jewelry, pictures (there were some amazing photographers), cards, crafts, and fresh produce. There were also multiple food vendors-- popcorn, Middle Eastern food, bratwursts, and many other foods. The air was full of a variety of scents! A good band also played throughout the morning.

I really enjoyed spending time down at the market-- love the culture of it all. I also think it is important to support the local farms. Surviving on a farm these days has to be pretty challenging, especially when our society consumes so much processed/manufactured food products (along with everything else). Farm life has never been easy but with the high cost of living in these days, it has got to be hard. Plus, owning a farm isn't a typical job anymore. As a matter of fact, farming only accounts for ~2.6% of the work force today-- as compared to the ~90% it was in the 17th and 18th centuries (Farming Information).

Besides my little ramble there... What I loved the most about the produce stands was that the vegetables and fruits were organic (believe that most or all food stands were). I liked this particular food stand:

We also indulged a little with the food vendors… Oh man, there is the best food at our local market! We got a little serving of gelato, which was delightful. I had mint chip and chocolate chip. Mmmm.. That calmed my craving for sure. In the book Eat, Pray, Love the author goes to Italy and talks about all of the gelato she eats. Since I’ve read that part of the book I’ve been thinking about it! So good!

Later on, we stopped at another vendor called Zest Crepes (their website). They were serving a variety of crepes. Let me tell you, that was tasty! I had a crepe called Sweet Italy. My crepe had raspberries, mascarpone cheese, a squeeze of orange, and a little zest. Mmmm mmmm… I hope Zest is able to open up a restaurant in town someday.

Overall, it was a wonderful day. I hope to return again sometime before the season is over. Nothing like living local!