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Gratitude

Posted at 8:29 PM on May 16, 2008 by Donna McClurkan (5 Comments)

A member of our Yahoo Group, Julie, posted this earlier today:

Last Saturday, as I was making my last round of my Farmers Market
I spotted a sign amidst lots of flowers: "Spinach $2/bunch." The boy minding
the table looked to be about 8 yrs old. I asked him, "Did you grow this
spinach?" He said, "Yes, I picked it yesterday." As I was looking
it over his father came up and said, "Did you tell her when you picked
it?" I assured him he did and gave the boy $2. Then, remembering what
I've read in books recently and learned on this listserve about being
appreciative to the farmers and developing a relationship w/ those who
grow your food, I thanked the boy for picking the spinach and bringing
it to the market. Remembering that exchange, the spinach has tasted so
wonderful all this week. I can't wait to look for that boy tomorrow!

Doesn't this story perfectly illustrate much of what the local food movement is about - the relationship between grower and consumer? Day by day, purchase by purchase, similar interactions are happening at farmers' markets and CSAs all across the country. The common denominator, I think, is gratitude. Farmers appreciate the business and interest in their work and consumers appreciate quality and the opportunity to better understand where their food comes from.

Comments (5)

Donna, your comments are so on target. Every summer the farmer's stand opens along Lake Michigan Drive on the Versluis Farm near Grand Rapids, where I visit weekly to scoop up a variety of their fruits and vegetables. Knowing the people who produce this bounty means so much. One of the farmers often at the stand is also an educator and author of the book "Island Farm", a lovely chronicle and tribute to growing up on this farm which is now an island in the midst of urban development. A personal relationship wiht the people who produce food for our table is important to us, and you have reminded me that I, not they, should be saying thank you when the money (surprisingly little) is exchanged!

Posted by Darla | May 18, 2008 1:01 PM

Here is the rest of my Market Story.
I did see the boy at the Mkt yest & found out he's 9 yrs old & his name is Alan. He was quick to tell me his 7-yr-old sister had picked the spinach for the Mkt this week. When I told him I thought about him every time I ate the spinach last week his face absolutely beamed! The father hovering in the background had a look of pleasure on his face as I talked w/ his children.

Posted by Julie | May 18, 2008 7:32 PM

Darla - When Julie posted her story to our listserv, I thought of it as a metaphor for the ways in which we need to re-think our relationships with the folks that grow our food. Your observation about who should be thankful when the $ is exchanged is right on target. And yes, it IS surprisingly little when one considers the true costs of producing our food. Thanks very much for your comment. Donna

Posted by Donna McClurkan | May 19, 2008 5:22 AM

Julie - thanks for sharing your story and again for letting us know how Alan reacted a week later. So many lives have been touched by this experience .... Donna

Posted by Donna McClurkan | May 19, 2008 5:29 AM

It strikes me too that we have gotten so far away from simply being grateful for the food we eat - the fastfood nature of our lives have separated us both from those who grow the food and from those who prepare it and often from those with whom we eat it. Perhaps one of the really significant parts of the local food movement is the opportunity to re-connect with community is all these ways. Thanks Donna for your thoughts.

Posted by Anne Lipsey | May 20, 2008 2:34 PM