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

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  • From: "Jill Taylor Bussiere" <jdt AT itol.com>
  • To: "market farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Peddlers at "Farmers Markets"
  • Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 13:50:09 -0600


Dori,
I too am passionate about local. In our farmers' market we also allow
crafts. But the crafts must be made by the person, and they must be of an
agricultural, ethnic, or historic nature. We are very picky about what we
allow - but let people know in as gentle a way that their items would be a
fit for other markets in the area if we need to reject them at ours, and I
usually try to give them another place to try.

Jill

> 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






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