Build it and They Will Come

Pop up farmers markets are not a good idea on paper. An incredible amount of energy is expended to bring one to life weekly. A band of vendors all show up within the same half hour window to snake in between each other with trailers and vans packed to the gills with their wares. All at once, the group of caffeinated entrepreneurs and representatives of entrepreneurs and family of entreprenuers feverishly unload and build displays which are rather exposed to the elements and even the pitch of the parking lot. Sometimes the buzzing of the market bees is interrupted by the SMASH of a glass jar which rolls out of a vehicle, or the SLAM of a market table or sign belly flopping onto the ground. One time, during market set up, the hum of the fastidious market vendors in preparation mode was interrupted by the screams of cumulatively more people noticing that a vendor's child had hopped into a running vehicle which was being unloaded. The very keen 3 year old had popped the car into neutral and was rolling toward a few booths at the bottom of a slope. Our hero and a fellow farmer dove into the open drivers-side seat and pressed the brake with his hand.
Kids have played a large part in our tent at markets. The year Jack was born, he accompanied me to markets. I would simply sit in a chair with my back to the customers and nurse him when need be. With a generous sister manning the table in the meantime, I couldn't help but answer questions about carrots or herbs over my shoulder. Kids visiting the market seem to always have better ideas for displaying my jellies than I do, stacking them in Dr.Seuss towers. When May comes to market, she acts as the Foxhole ambassador, visiting other booths and making sure to locate the best snacks and art to spend all of our market earnings on. Legitimately the children who frequent the market ask so many good questions which reminds me of why we continue to participate in such a wild rumpus every Saturday, rather than offering delivery of our goods or simply working our wholesale channels. You see, outside of the farmers, there are many a vendor who partake in farmers markets as a launching pad for an eventual brick and mortar or delivery business.

The good conversations over food and how we grow it and how it is enjoyed, and how it is desired, are meant to be had. I get the chance to hear how the market goers' weeks have been, and then we get to discuss what the weather has been inspiring them to cook lately. They may ask why we don't have a certain vegetable on a given week...a question which allows me to give them some insight into seasonality or the effect of the weather events which befell the farm. We sometimes get compliments on the flavor of a particular crop, to which we can pay tribute to the diversity of plant genetics and the beauty of trying foreign-looking produce. Other times I'll notice that two strangers have just connected over honeynut squash as one suggests a killer recipe they have been making every other day while they wait in line. I see what size and shape and variety of vegetables are most likely to go home first and see which ones are left sitting on the bench. I learn my people and how to serve them.
In every market season there is at least one moody Saturday bestowed with a forecast which with a quick glance suggests to people that they might as well skip this week's farmers market to avoid uncomfortable weather. Sometimes a storm system comes out of left field, after we have already harvested and baked for market. And on those days, we pack what we have and set up our tent, with all four legs weighted in anticipation of wind. That doesn't keep the half-pound salad bags from blowing off of our table. Half of the vendors, especially those with water-sensitive products stay home, making for gaps in between the rain-or-shiners. Just this year I chose to adopt the, "don't worry about a thing" mentality on these days, knowing that at least I'd still get my day off the farm and that there'd be stories to bring home to Rich at the end of it.
When fall rolls around, our market days start to compete with fall festivals, marathons and Ohio State University football games and pregames. I imagine all the other vendors on Fridays, trying to decide how much traffic will come through and how much of their product to prepare for market. Is it just me, or do all of us little businesses market harder through our channels on these weekends when we know there are a lot of things to be doing around town?
Farmers market days are also very long. Rich and I head to the wash and pack at 5:00 to start packing preorders. We load the trailer and I head out for my day in the sun. It's not until 2:30 pm that I roll back up the driveway to unload and count the cashbox and wash the bakery display before I'm relaxing with the family somtime after 3:00.
My feet and mind may be tired from market day, but while I've physically exerted my energy, these days tend to reinvigorate and restore my motivation, my dedication to a community which shows up to make even rainy days worth our while, and my creative drive. There's a whole lot of love that tends to permeate the alleys between the market booths. Almost without exception, there is a comradery amongst the vendors at our dear Oakwood Farmers Market which evolves naturally in such a unique and shared experience as we have each week. And the folks who come through market rely on us for weekly goods...flowers, treats, produce, baby food. They invest in a community of locals who want to provide something for them.
These are people who I happily sell to on sideways rain Saturdays, and who I think of every winter as I scour the seed catalogs, wondering what they'd enjoy to have on their table. My wild rumpus crew :).
This year was our best market season yet. Thank you to those of you who are contributed to that! We are hoping to have two of us behind the booth during the high season next year. Cheers to best laid plans.
Thank you for reading :).
Thanks to the generous folks who paid to subscribe to our Foxhole Journal last year, we were able to fund this site for years to come. Going forward, we are making all publications available for free. No more pay wall! If you'd still like to contribute, you can fund my writing by 'buy(ing) me a coffee' any time you'd like.