I Don’t Know
Each week at market I get the same question: When is the market moving back to the elementary school parking lot? My answer is always the same—I don’t know. We’ve been told the roofing work will be done before school starts, but I’m not holding my breath. Seriously, how many times have you hired a contractor that finished on time? The answer is always the same: never!
And so we’ve spent summer in this alternative location with new neighbors and patrons. I’ve had a roving cast of characters next to me with market sponsors on one side and Rock Hill Orchard, the milk & ice cream people who come to market every other week on the other. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked where the milk people were… To be fair, one week their refrigeration unit on their truck went out, thus, preventing them from going to market. In the heat we’ve had, your milk would have been chunky and sour by Tuesday had it not been refrigerated.
Similarly, when I skipped a week at market during triple digit heat to care for the livestock my regular market neighbors at the school location were peppered with questions as to my whereabouts despite being on the opposite side of the co-op building and in the upper parking lot. The salad guys patiently explained my location only to be informed, no, I was not there. Where is she? They echoed the familiar phrase of I don’t know.
Farmers utter that phrase more often than most might imagine. When will the strawberries be ripe? How long will you have tomatoes? The questions are endless. However, there are some things we do know. We’re losing one of our long-time vendors, Number 1 Sons, who has chosen to close their doors after ten years in business. Why? I don’t know. It happens just like our favorite restaurants close, the shoe store we’ve always gone to is gone and the one I’m dealing with right now, finding a new mechanic.
We do know that we cannot remain at this site indefinitely. It’s been a 50/50 split between customers who want us to stay put and others who want us back at the school. I’ve received messages from customers whom I no longer see each week because the alternate location is too far. For years I’ve been told that city dwellers think anything further than two Metro stations is too far. Ask Spiral Path Farm how far they travel each week to bring fresh vegetables and fruit to market. {Hint: they spend as much time in their truck as they do at the market}
Alternatively, local residents, especially new patrons who have enjoyed having us within walking distance are lamenting our eventual departure. It always amazes me how a geographical area takes ownership of the local farmers market, but to tell us we’re going to be missed when we’re gone has me shaking my head.
The locations are less than a mile apart, seven tenths to be exact. That’s about a 15 minute walk, five minutes by car or bike. If I had to walk that route on a Sunday morning I’d be strolling along Bethesda Row, taking Arlington past the Caroline Freeland Urban Park. Bethesda is a gorgeous town with lots of trees and flowers. While I always advocate for doing as much shopping as possible at the market, there are plenty of local businesses along the way, too.
When I’ve suggested this, the most common excuse is about carrying home all the market goodies. Ever heard of a market basket with wheels? True, in the dead of winter and the heat of summer a fifteen minute walk might not be the most comfortable, but remember, the vendors endure those same conditions for hours to provide fresh foods.
Parking is plentiful at both locations yet I’ve heard grumbling about finding parking places close to market at peak hours on busy days. What can we say? Central Farm Market is the largest and best farmers market in the region; we’re popular! That I do know.