An Inside View of the Farmers' Market

The amount of work that goes into operating a stand at a farmers' market is absolutely amazing. Working in one for a day would be enough to make you appreciate the farmers more than you already do. The work they put into setting up and running their tables at the farmers' market, combined with what they do on the farms, is mind-boggling.

A friend of a friend was a little short-handed at the downtown farmers' market. My friend asked if I'd be interested in helping out. She said he would pay us and it might be fun. Starting a workday at 5:00 in the morning is not necessarily my idea of fun, but I agreed.

We ended up starting at 5:45, despite having gotten up at 4:00. I had thought about not going to bed at all the night before, but decided against it. The highways were practically empty, and the streets downtown were barren except for one pedestrian wandering on a sidewalk. After Sylvia parked in a parking lot that only contained two other cars, we walked around a dark brick building. We got to the other side, and all of a sudden we saw bright lights shining on tables covered with flowers, fruit, vegetables, soaps, baked goods and more. Surrounding the rows of tables were stands where people were selling fruit smoothies, jewelry, clothing and I don't know what else. Around the edges of the market were restaurants and grocery stores with food from Italy, India, China and other places. It almost seemed more like a festival than a market.

The farmer and his two other helpers had started setting up the tables when we got there. They were all very cheerful and energetic. We helped arrange the red tomatoes, purple and white onions, purple and green peppers, purple and white eggplant, yellow squash and green cucumbers. The cabbage, potatoes and melons were added later. It was a beautiful display, which we kept filling with new items as the others were sold. All the food was fresh and locally grown, as farmers' market food usually is.

Purple was a very popular color, with the purple onions (call me color-blind, but they never did look red to me) being the first thing to disappear. The purple peppers brought so many exclamations of, "Purple peppers! I've never seen a purple pepper before! What do they taste like?" that we started cutting them into bite-size pieces and giving out free samples. Almost everyone liked them, and one of the only people who didn't was a woman wearing a purple pantsuit that was a perfect match for them. It was too bad she didn't take any with her, or one of the purple eggplants. She was too late for the onions.

Some of the shoppers asked questions such as where the food was grown, whether any pesticides were used and how it tasted. They seemed to expect that we had tasted everything. After overhearing the answers to some of the questions and asking some of the others, I could answer them as if I knew.

The crowd of shoppers was thick most of the day, occasionally thinning enough that we had a chance to watch them. Almost all of them looked happy as they carried their bags of food. Strollers with cute babies in them were abundant. When a couple of the strollers were pushed past each other, one of the babies looked at the other and appeared astonished. The look on the baby's face said, "Wow! A person who is no bigger than I am!"

For a day in the middle of July, it was not too terribly hot. Every once in awhile there was a soft breeze, which reminded us what a nice day it was. We were under a canopy, so we were in the shade all day. I took a lunch break and decided to have a strawberry ice cream sundae instead of lunch. It was scrumptious, as food usually is on vacation or at a picnic. Afterward, the heat was even more bearable.

The shoppers continued to appear, tasting the purple peppers until they'd all been sold. One man told of a way to make eggplant delicious. He sautes it with shrimp, garlic, butter and Parmesan cheese. I repeated it back to him to make sure I hadn't missed anything. That was valuable information I hadn't expected.

Since farmers' markets open so early, the end of the day comes at about 3 or 4:00. When we started helping pack the tables, boxes, cooler, cash register and other equipment into the truck, I realized how tired I'd gotten. After doing for one measly day what some do every day, all season, in both good weather and bad, I was exhausted. The next time I shop at a farmers' market, I'll appreciate what they are doing, both there and on the farm, more than ever before.

When we were putting the stuff on the truck, the farmer asked if we wanted any of the food that hadn't been sold. I brought home a little bit of practically everything. What an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday! If anyone ever asks if you would be interested in helping out at a farmers' market, I recommend giving it a try.