IMAGINE MAGAZINE FALL 2016 Peace and the Environment | Page 33

basis . It ensures that the farmer has funds up front to plant and harvest the food and for members to get fresh , healthy food every week .
To Katrin the relationship between grower and consumer goes deeper . “ I think farmers markets create a better world . They help to reweave and strengthen basic patterns in our relationships and in our communities . Food , specifically healthy food , can be a vehicle to reestablish a healthy community and create healthy traditions that I think we ’ ve lost in our society . Because we ’ re all involved with highspeed multitasking and managing very complex lives , buying food locally , and preparing food consciously can return us to a place of simplicity .’’
New relationships are also springing from the upswing in small production farms and consumer demand for fresh local produce . The farm-to-table movement is one of the biggest restaurant trends across the nation , and it keeps expanding with new creative opportunities , including some wineries in the Verde Valley region that are adding organically grown local foods to complement and enhance their visitor experience .
“ The number one reason customers go to a farmers market is to buy healthy food ,” observes Katrin . “ Food is also a way for travelers to connect to the community they are visiting . They are looking for an authentic experience and food is a way to enjoy what is grown locally and meet the people who grow it . People are relational ; they want to connect with each other and food is a wonderful way to do that . I also think it ’ s empowering because we are eating food that hasn ’ t come from 1,000 miles away .”
There is a resurgence of small
Good farmers , who take seriously their duties as stewards of Creation and of their land ’ s inheritors , contribute to the welfare of society in more ways than society usually acknowledges , or even knows . These farmers produce valuable goods , of course ; but they also conserve soil , they conserve water , they conserve wildlife , they conserve open space , they conserve scenery .
- Wendell Berry , Bringing it to the Table : On Farming and Food
farms across the country and the next generation may be stepping up to take the reins as growers . “ We ’ re seeing more young growers trying to make a go of it , especially in the microgreen category . Microgreens are considered to be a superfood because of their concentrated nutrition . They are very popular at the farmers market and with local restaurants . They ’ re fairly easy to grow , mainly because they are grown in a controlled climate ,” Katrin remarks .
Always the tenacious champion for the establishment of a vibrant and growing Sedona Farmers Market , Katrin was instrumental in helping to change health regulations by classifying microgreens not as sprouts but as greens grown in soil . “ The FDA considers sprouts to be a highly hazardous food so we worked with local agencies , like the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension of Yavapai County in collaboration with the USDA ( Department of Agriculture , Arizona ) to convince the FDA that microgreens are not sprouts , but are like small vegetables grown in the ground , therefore produced differently . The local growers befitted ultimately from these efforts .”
Fortunately , as older seasoned growers hit retirement age in the Verde Valley , there is more interest on the part of young growers to make farming a lifestyle . Because land prices are quite high in the region , established growers often help younger growers by allowing them to use their farms to get started . This is a hopeful sign that farming — not big agriculture , but smaller farms and micro-farms — is being taken up by the next generation .
“ Our American culture is a very young culture and people want to feel empowered around their food choices these days . They want to create healthy rituals and traditions . One of the main values is health , and that brings people together ,” says Katrin .
There are also ethical and philosophical choices being made around food sourcing . Younger people are very conscious of that , according to Katrin . “ When they buy food its either supporting the planet or not . If you buy local from a grower , 75 cents stays in the community and local economy , versus 45 cents that is circulated when food is purchased from a big box store .”
What about the future of farmers markets , how they create community by re-connecting us , Katrin was asked . “ I think it ’ s the original way we bought food hundreds of years ago . These days some towns have a farmers market every day . Having a weekly one here is a good start . I have seen beautiful collaborations among growers . Many conversations around food and a lot of education has occurred . We are all just a few generations away from our ancestors , many of whom who were farmers . It feels like its going in the right direction to me .”
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