Thursday, February 12, 2009

To Market, To Market...






Call me crazy (you wouldn't be the first) but I just gotta have my Farmers Market Fix...even on this - one of the coldest mornings on record. Since there is no year-round outdoor farmers market in Harford County, I am off on an hour long trek to the 32nd Street Market in Baltimore. (FYI this is the ONLY year-round outdoor Farmers Market in Maryland, except for Tacoma Park).


As cold as it was, the place was jumping as always and I could smell the Ethiopian Delights as I opened my car door. The hot foods - literally & figuratively - were the big sellers this morning...wild mushroom consume, chicken curry, still-warm tea cakes, as were the breads, spices, cheeses, eggs, milks, and Zekes Coffee of course. I left there with several of Barbara's (Neopol) quiches and one of Harmony's vegan pizzas for a quick healthy dinner later that evening.


As I made my way back through the crowd to my vehicle, I looked around and wondered 'why can't we have this?'. Bel Air could certainly benefit from a year-round market. The downtown businesses would certainly reap the rewards of bring shoppers into the area on a regular basis. Take a lesson from this market and have artists, musicians, and various year-long vendors in addition to the regular 'seasonal' farmer types.





Then I notice that they have OUR local farms selling here...One Straw Farm, Brooms Bloom Dairy, as well as others from PA and Glen Rock and Westminster and Elkton - surely Bel AIr would be a great asset to them as well...perhaps on a Sunday afternoon instead of Saturday morning?


Just a thought...