In 1972, I experienced my first trip to New York City. My family and I stayed at the Essex House near Central Park. I remember walking around with my family and thinking, do real New Yorkers know where their food comes from? My thought was those poor people think that peas and corn grow in cans, and bouquets of flowers grow in bunches ready to go to someone’s home. Fortunately, for us it is 2012, and the public is much more educated as to where their garden does grow.
When did eating healthy and having a holistic approach to food become an activity of the one percent? If people have access to good food and it’s fairly priced, no matter what their socioeconomic background is, they will eat it. Junk food is not always cheaper than real food — and yet, roast a chicken, boil potatoes and serve a salad with an olive oil vinaigrette, and you are immediately on the verge of breaking into the “foodie category.” Let’s blame it on marketing. We are an obsessed society of marketing with food labeling facts that are completely wrong.
We on Mercer Island are very fortunate to have our own farmers market, entering into its fifth summer.
Here in our own community, we can see what is available in season and not what’s available year-round from hothouses in our local super markets. We can actually talk and learn from the farmers themselves. Working farm land is no easy task, and it is not for the weak at heart. These people work their land 365 days a year, rarely taking off for Christmas and Easter school breaks. This is back-breaking work, coupled with the love of nature and the land surrounding them.
I was fortunate enough to meet with Tanya Bednarski, on the board of the MI Farmers Market, discussing the exciting upcoming events and positive changes with the market.
The following is a sampling of events for the upcoming season.
• June 10 – Opening Day
Features Brock Johnson, chef, Dahlia Lounge, walking the market with shoppers, talking about cooking with seasonal and local ingredients, and providing a sampling from a recipe in his cookbook.
Diane Larson of the Mercer Island Florist will create floral arrangements using market flowers and produce.
• June 24 – Kids at Play
Mercer Island Food Revolution, sponsors of community dinners on the Island, will sample family-friendly foods.
The Parks and Recreation’s Fun Mobile will be in Mercerdale Park, and there will be a mini camp fair with YTN and PEAK.
• July 22 – Mercer Island in Motion
Fun Fitness in Mercerdale Park – Yoga Bliss and Jazzercise will do short classes, and Veloce Velo will have a bike obstacle course and safety check for kids.
Susan Kleiner, an Island-based sports nutritionist, will talk about eating for improved fitness.
• Aug. 26 – Books and Bites
Three cookbook authors will feature samples from a recipe in their cookbook and sign and sell books, including Andrea Lott with “Dining in Seattle: Past and Present.”
• Sept. 9 – Farm to Table with Kids
Casper Babypants will perform. Farm day with bees, chickens, goats and rabbits.
