Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: Peddlers at "Farmers Markets"

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Dori Green" <dorigreen00 AT hotmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Peddlers at "Farmers Markets"
  • Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2001 14:35:25 -0500


Willie wrote:

"Gary is being too restrained. Peddlers have done more damage to
legitimate growers in farmers markets than you can imagine. <snip> Find a legitimate market. I have been too restrained, also; not a single cuss word, though the topic rates it."


Hear, hear! I worked for eight years to help create a farmers market here in Corning, and the "Downtown Marketing" girls have turned it into a freak show with the wholesale peddlers. I was told in no uncertain terms to just shut the heck up when I complained that one particular old guy was no farmer. Didn't I know the market needed vendors? Well, that's fine, they lost this one! And every other local farmer who's asked me if this is a real farmer's market or only another outlet for the wholesalers when I called them to invite them to take part in the market. The farmers know the deal; this is always the first question from them.

The guy who got my knickers in a particular knot has his granddaughters talk about their farm to customers, claiming that he wants to do this to teach the little girls about commerce. So he's teaching them to lie and cheat the public. The so-called market managers even let him collect WIC coupons in the program that's supposed to be for bona fide farmers when they know for sure that he only backs his truck up to a wholesale loading dock. To get around my objections, he wrote up a sign claiming that he represented the farm from which he was getting his wholesale produce, until I turned him in to the owner of that farm who told him to stop that.

So no, this Corning farmer does not and will not participate in the Corning Farm Market. I'll rent space in the corner of a parking lot somewhere and do just fine, thanks.

And no, I won't shut up about the fraud being perpetrated at the so-called farmer's market in town. I'm organizing the few real farmers left in the region, and we'll just put together our own doggone market and the marketing girls can eat our rock dust.

I'm more willing than most folks to compromise and cooperate. But fraud is fraud and lies are lies, and I won't be part of either one. And if anybody doesn't like that about me, they can bite my rutabagas.

Dori Green
Ash Grove Community Farm & Center for Sustainable Living
Corning, NY

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page