A couple of weeks ago someone posted on social media that they were disappointed that the local supermarket corn on the cob wasn’t as fresh as it should be…
Well, of course not, silly. It was fresh in someplace else…like Florida or California. It was still fresh when it got on the train headed here. It was a little less fresh a day later when it arrived at the food distribution center, then bounced along the route to DelCo…far from the farmer who planted it, watered it, watched and prayed over and harvested it. That’s when it was fresh.
And finally, here in DelCo, did it taste good? Sure, probably. Did it taste like a mouthful of sunshine and a day at the beach? Nope. Because good is only good enough. Good isn’t great. Good is a day late and a dollar short. Great is shaking the muddy hand of the farmer who just picked it. And that is what Farmers Markets are all about. Getting crops from the mud to your mouth in as few steps as possible.
For all our 21st century smarts, for AI and all the technology meant to make our lives better, healthier, more productive, I still think of the farmer standing in a field in Pennsylvania Dutch country…looking at the sky and asking the same question as at least five generations of farmers before him…does that cloud mean sweet rain or stem-smashing hail?
So while we still have a few weeks to wait for that first bite of fresh corn, there are already some seasonal taste sensations within eating distance. Think green: Asparagus, green onions, beans and peas, broccoli and lettuce. Or red: strawberries, cherries, beets and rhubarb. Or, just go here each week to see what’s ripe for the picking in PA.
And speaking of waiting…please direct your attention to the Landing and the RETURN of the MUSIC TENT! YESSSSS! This is the year we bring Music back to the Market! And this week it’s a double billing: The students from Settlement School will open the bill at 10AM followed by the sophisticated jazz vocals of Lansdowne’s own LaGressa Cross and G3Soul.
Local musicians: got talent? We’re looking to reinvigorate our musical contact list going forward, and there are still some late summer slots open, just waiting for you to step into the spotlight. See me at the LFM Managers Tent for details. We keep it local…and Lansdowne lacks nothing in the music gene pool…so DIVE IN!
Even More news: Without giving away any big secrets, you should know that the space that we’ve stood in for all these years is on schedule to have a make-over! Yep, just like…but NOT on…TV. We’re still at least another season away from groundbreaking, but we’re already making plans on how to keep the Lansdowne Farmers Market up and running through it all. It’s taking a LOT of planning…and work…to make this much needed re-do a reality. And once it IS real, there’ll still be work to do to keep our weekly Saturday date humming.
So, yes, there’s a catch…Volunteers. Younger than me volunteers. Weekly volunteers ready to carry us into the future. That’s all I’ll say for now, but expect this offer to be gently subtly emphatically repeated throughout this season.
ALSO, speaking of volunteers, our thanks to the Lansdowne Business & Professional Association (LBPA) for the spectacular and spectacularly attended Night Market last Friday. I hope you got there. And that’s exactly why you need to read ALL of the weekly LEDC newsletter… so that you don’t miss events like this.
Now, and every week, please visit our LFM site or FB page to see who’s coming.
And I’ll see you there.
Terry Baraldi