Last winter, I was chatting with a garlic grower who attends many farmers’ markets in this region, and according to him, many/most smaller markets have one anchor vendor who obviously buys produce from somewhere (maybe it IS “local”, bought wholesale from big regional growers). These vendors are tolerated and necessary because they attract a big base weekly traffic, all of those people who apparently feel that buying veggies outdoors off a table at a market, even if they’re the same veggies they’d get in the supermarkets, is a good thing. They wander around, buy stuff from other vendors, keep the market visibly bubbling along. I don’t know how accurate any of this is, but I find it totally plausible that the public at large still isn’t that into local food, and smaller markets could be hurt if traffic went down, not only as far as sales, but when it comes to location, services, and so forth voted on by the various town councils.

Dunno, maybe I’m overthinking, but in this case as in others, I maintain a cheerful outlook and try to focus on steadily improving this tiny farm rather than getting pissed off at…externals, going off half-cocked, and ending up spending more energy on a different sort of activism than the original tiny farming itself. Everything in its time, don’t get too far ahead of the awareness and will of the people immediately around you…it’s a show-by-example and a timing thing?! Well, that’s my evolving attitude! ;)