(FreshFarm Markets photo)
This afternoon, the White House is going to get a farmers market.
Actually, it’s going to be in an area next to the White House, but there’s much being made of the connection between Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden and her focus on nutrition. More than a dozen farmers and other vendors will set up their stalls just outside the White House, on Vermont Avenue between H and I streets. They'll be selling produce, preserves, meat from pasture-raised animals, milk and yogurt, artisan cheeses and baked goods.
It’s being run by the nonprofit FreshFarm Markets, and will operate from 3 to 7 p.m. every Thursday through Oct. 29.
Local food advocates are, of course, ecstatic. The American Farmland Trust issued a statement saying the market “sets the table for important discussion.”
“After 30 years as the leader on farmland protection and conservation issues, we couldn’t be happier to find support from the White House on an issue in greater need of national attention,” said the trust’s president, Jon Scholl. “Protecting farmland for future agricultural use is of the utmost importance to every citizen in this country. And it is vital to maintaining the future viability of our farmers and rural communities.”
Julia Freedgood, managing director of AFT’s Growing Local initiative to promote strong local and regional food systems, said that in 1989, there were 1,890 farmers markets in the U.S. Today there are about 4,900 markets.
The White House may have the spotlight at the moment, but not long ago the Trust announced that this region’s own Collingswood market was one of the top three in popularity in the nation, based on a vote by members. It swept the “small” category _ markets with 30 or fewer vendors.
According the Trust, here’s what one customer had to say: “It is a community tradition to be at the market Saturday morning. Local restaurants have gotten involved with the market, giving demonstrations at the markets, incorporating market produce into their menus. The success of Collingswood's market has led to nearby communities also sponsoring markets, thus making local food more accessible to consumers and enabling small farms to be successful.”
The market, held on Saturday mornings through Thanksgiving, is between Collings and Irvin Avenues along the PATCO line.
About Sandy Bauers
Sandy Bauers is the environment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, where she has worked for more than 20 years as a reporter and editor. She lives in northern Chester County with her husband, two cats, a large vegetable garden and a flock of pet chickens.
GreenSpace - her column about how to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life - appears every other Monday in Health & Science.
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