"The Real World" Grassroots Edition

Welcome to the August 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Farmer's Markets

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about something new they've learned about their local farmers.

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"Our farmer". It is fun to be able to say those words.  

Like many in the US I am 2-3 generations removed from farming, at least on my mother's side.  On my father's I believe it is much more than that.  My maternal grandfather did grow up on a farm.  My mother has memories of visiting her grandparents over the summer and watching her grandfather stomp on the head of a chicken and her grandmother cleaning and cooking it for dinner.

But those are not my memories. The majority of my childhood memories are from the 1980's... an era of microwave cooking, margarine, and refrigerator biscuits. My father was and is still a hunter so I was never completely ignorant when it came to the origins of food, but I didn't really grasp the difference between "whole" or "real" foods and the concoctions that were showing up in kitchens all over the country.

My confession... when I was first on my own I thought that "real cooking" meant hamburger helper - because, you know, you cooked it on the stove and started with raw meat ;-).  My rather steep learning curve started with a diagnosis of gluten intolerance in one of my older children and it has been a wild journey.  I can't fully retrace the steps as it has been over a decade, but needless to say I have a much firmer grasp of what La Leche League means by "a variety of foods in as close to their natural state as possible".

At some point several years ago I became interested in raw milk and went looking for something local and that is where we found "our farmer".  We are in one of the fortunate states where we can simply purchase raw milk directly from a farmer (many folks don't have that kind of food rights as witnessed here, here, and here).  Not only do we drive by the cows which supply our milk, we have to honk at our laying chickens to get out of the way in order to park.  If we choose we have access to grass fed, well cared-for beef, pork, chicken, and lamb.  Even cooler (in my mind) is that "our farmer" is a she!  I love the opportunity to expose, particularly the young, children to adults in non gender-normative professions.  Additionally she knows us.  She can and has put things aside for us when supplies were running low.  During the slower production times she works with her families to help folks get what they want, keeping in mind everyone's needs.  For me that offers a wonderful feeling of food security.  Whole Foods doesn't care if I get my groceries, other than the fact that it keeps them in business.  Nor do the producers of that food watch my children run around chasing the chickens - but "our farmer" knows that our safety is in her hands.  And my family knows that our health is directly connected to the health of the animals and land.

So this is my thank you to "our farmer" and all of the farmers out there running family farms, CSAs, and the like.  I know that most sustainable farmers receive very little in the way of subsidies and support, particularly when compared to the factory farms, sparking my gratitude to run all the more deep.  Thank you for keeping it real.

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Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

(This list will be live and updated by afternoon August 14 with all the carnival links.)

• 10 Simple Ways to Make the Farmer's Market More Fun for Kids — Lorie at Reading Confetti shares ideas and books to help kids get the most from the farmers market experience.
• 10 Things I Want To Teach My Daughter About The Importance of Shopping at the Farmer’s Market — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares the ten lessons she hopes to impart to her daughter about the importance of shopping at local farmers markets.
• Charmed by Two Small Town Markets — Shannon at GrowingSlower was charmed by two small-town farmers markets while on vacation.
• The Olympia Farmer's Market (and a giveaway!) — Shannon at Pineapples & Artichokes and family took a trip to their state capitol to experience a new market. See what they saw, and enter to win a book written about that very market.
• — Exploring the farmers market by Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy writing at Natural Parents Network — with a scavenger hunt!
• Exploring the Market ... Alphabet Style — That Mama Gretchen is in the midst of creating a learning tool for her toddler and it's all about the market!
• Unschooling at the Farmers Market — Megz at Aspen Mama loves building memories as a vendor at the Market.
• Montessori-Inspired Vegetable Unit — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares links to Montessori-inspired vegetable printables and activities to help your family get the most out of a trip to the farmer’s market.
• Markets — How sustainable mum has fitted a monthly farmers market into a weekly food shop.
• The Farmers Market In Under An Hour ("Carl Style") — Andrea and family at Tales of Goodness adapt their farmers marketing approach to make everyone happy.
• Tales Of a Troubled Gardener — Sam at Love Parenting writes about her dream of self-sufficiency and her lack of gardening skills!
• A Few {Of The Many} Reasons Why I Love Our Farmer’s Market — Even though the experience can sometimes be less than peaceful, MomeeeZen shares why she enjoys taking her family to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings.
• Experiencing the Farmer's Market from a Different Perspective — Emily at S.A.H.M. i AM had a great time letting her toddler lead the way at the farmer's market...
• Ask A Farmer's Daughter — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter answers questions about her life growing up on a small family farm in New England.

• Giving Up the Grocery Store — Kerry at City Kids Homeschooling shares her family's summertime challenge to eliminate trips to the grocery store and rely almost exclusively on local, farm-fresh foods.
• Urban farming and fresh food in the city — Lauren at Hobo Mama takes trips to farms, gardens, and markets within reach of a big city.
• Market Tip: Get to Know Your Farmers — Justine at The Lone Home Ranger finally gets up the guts to talk to her farmers and learns she is among ardent food lovers.
• New Farmer's Market Find — Kellie at Our Mindful Life is excited to make a new find at her new farmers market.
• "The Real World" Grassroots Edition — jessica at instead of institution takes some time out to write a love note.
• 9 Insider Tips for Farmer's Market Newbies — Dionna at Code Name: Mama chatted with a few farmers to bring you some insider information on how to get the most out of your local farmer's market.
• The Place Where I Can Say "Yes!" — Erica at ChildOrganics gives you a tour of her favorite vendors at her local farmers market and discusses the benefits of creating community through the market.
• Raw Local Milk — Jorje shares her family's field trip to a local dairy. Learn what you can appreciate from a small town farm at Momma Jorje.com.
• Italian Secret Vegetable Soup Recipe — Alinka at Baby Web convinces an Italian Farmer & Cook to reveal a precious minestrone recipe and shares it with her readers.
• Where do our eggs come from? A visit to Sucellus Farms. — Carli at One Fit Mom takes her family to meet the chickens that have been providing their daily eggs.
• Beyond the Farm — Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy and her family enjoy looking beyond the food at the local farmer's market to see the wares of the over vendors.
• Magic at the Market — Do you ever take time to really look at the food you eat? Amy at Anktangle enjoys marveling at the beauty (and the utility) of the foods and goods available at the farmers' market.
• Farmer's Market Discoveries — Laura from Pug in the Kitchen reminisces about the discoveries she's made at the Farmer's Market throughout the years.
• Are You Getting the Most out of Your Farmers' Market? (My List of Not-So-Common "Musts") — Sheila at A Living Family shares some uncommon ways to squeeze even more joy and connection (and yumminess!) from your local farmers' market experience.
• Pick Your Own And Eat It — Luschka from Diary of a First Child shares their trip to a PYO farm and the journey from picking to eating her favourite food