Choosing to Participate:
A Social Justice Service Project on Sustainability

This past Saturday was Lili’s, Sam’s, Hannah’s and my last day working as a group at the farmers market. It made me sad that most people would totally quit doing sustainable community service after the Day of Learning. Even though I have known the farmers for my entire life, this experience has been unlike any other. The people who work with the Greenmarket really appreciated kids who actually cared about the community. They made us feel really needed, and after working there for four monthes, it feels so good to have helped these kind, hardworking farmers make their living. Working with Dave, Lynn, Karen, Liz, Davy and Emily I realized how special being able to really assist people is. I’ve learned so much from these farmers: about what it takes to have a farm, to have a family, and to work at the farmers market three times a week. The last few times I’ve gone to the farmers market I’ve worked with Dave, “the honey guy.” He owns Berkshire Berries. His stand sells all kinds of jams and jellies, maple syrup, wild flower honey, and even honey that is made in Manhattan! Throughout the past weeks i have seen his bees(they were so amazing), organized his extremely messy truck, made sales, and all together had a fabulous time chatting with him, laughing about crazy customers, and tasting everything. He really needed my help some days when he was selling by himself, and it made me really proud this past Saturday when he fell asleep in his truck and I ran the enitre stand for two hours. I really have learned so much during this project, and I hope to always have this important connection to the Greenmarket, and continue working there, if more sporadically.

In total, the day of learning was a sucess. It was very satisfying to see everybodys hard work come together in a way that was beneficial to the entire middle school. One thing I hope that will come out of the day of learning is people wanting to help the community, and actually understanding what it means to be sustainable. My group’s workshop went really well. It was interesting to see how our script changed for the better as we went along, and how much the people in our workshop effected the overall learning experience. I think that most people did learn something, and had fun eating the delicious fruit salad we had them make. It was also a good idea to have three people reflect at the end, because it was a way for the students to sum up what they had learned in their own words. The prize muffins were also delicious. One thing that could have gone differently was that we had too much fruit, and we hadnt predicted well whow much every kid would eat. Otherwise, everything was absolutely great.

When we first started preparing for the workshop, there were a few different ideas that we had. One idea was to have a taste test between deli food and organic food, but we dissagreed because we thought that just because it is organic, doesnt mean that someone will enjoy it more. For example we thought if someone loved Chips Ahoy cookies, those tested to an organic cookie might not compare for them. We kept narrowing down until we came to the conclusion that making a organic and local fruit salad would be enlightening and also fun. Some of the difficulties were finding fruit that grew locally and wouldn’t cost us too much money. Even though there were a lot of problems, we think that our workshop should be very effective because if people listen to the information that we are supplying, then they really might make a decision that they don’t need the mangos that grow in Costa Rica every week because it is horrible pollution and that they can eat the delicious food that grows near by.

Around 3:45, Sam, Lili, Sophie and I arrived at Liz Carollo’s office on Chambers Street. It was small and kind of cluttered, and at first she just talked to us about her various thoughts on the markets and on the office, such as allowing all the farmers to take credit cards with a special machine. Then I worked for a while on organizing various fliers by market. Then I filed them in a special shelf she had built. After I had done that, I worked with Sophie and Sam on finding possible recipes in Gourmet magazine that included lots of ingredients that were sold at the Greenmarket. I worked until about 6pm, then went home.

Sophie- after taking notes on the things that Liz pointed out about the farmers market, such as publicity, organization, and monetary needs. Then Lili and I laminated farmer’s market fliers. After Lili left, I helped organize fliers and pick out recipes that included ingredients that were sold at the farmers market. I was impressed with all the ideas that we came up with, but I was surprised at how messy the office is, and I wonder how they function during the day. This meeting gave me a real taste at what The Greenmarket behind the scenes is like. Everyone was really friendly, and we met a lot of farmers who were having a meeting in the next room. We met the head of Greenmarket, member of the farmer’s market committee, and many others. It felt good to be greeted as a fellow community member, because it was like we were already part of the group. It was amazing to see so many different people collaborate because they all care about a common goal.

Lili- When we first got to the office I had reconized farmers in a meeting. They were discussing the buisness aspect of running the market. And that is what the office is mostly about. They collect money, raise awareness and is basicly the buisness center of the market. Personally, I didn’t enjoy working there because I had alreadly expierienced the livliness of the market and found working at the office very boring. If I had to choose the hands on work every saturday morning over lamenating or organizing papers I would. The sustainable part is within the market and not the office.

Sam, Sophie, and I went to Union Square to help a woman named Karen who is a sheep farmer. All of her cheeses and yogurts were made with sheeps milk and she also sold lamb and sheep meat. At first we weren’t sure what to do, so we just stood around drinking cider. But after about 15 minutes, we started handing samples of sheep’s milk cheeses and yogurt to passers by and made lots of sales. It was easy, but it was also pretty fun. Sometimes I felt imposing when I would ask someone if they wanted a sample and they didn’t. They acted uncomfortable and seemed to feel obliged to then look at our stand. But most people appreciated the free samples and asked for more. It actually surprised me how many people came to our stand. At the end of the day, Karen gave us each a free piece of Brebi’s Blanche cheese.

On Saturday morning Lili and I got an unexpected call from Davy, saying he was the only one at the managers booth that day and would we please come help. We were happy to oblige, and arrived shortly at 12:00. There, we met with Davy and were given a list of farmers who were not there that day, and a walkie talkie. After grabbing a cheap but delicious breakfast of organic pumpkin, apple, carrot, and banana bread, we settled in. Customers came by to pick out free magazines, free recipes, and lists of market times, but mostly to ask questions. We answered questions about volunteering, which farmers were at the market, when and what time the market was open, and to take many complaints. It was really fun, because it made me feel responsible and happy because I was spending hours at a place that I have always loved. Although my feet were falling of from the cold, and we met a few strange people, helping out was really important and totally worth it. I learned more about how the market runs and works than I already did. At the end of our shift, we went to talk to one of the farmers, Karen, who has a sheep farm about when we would come. I can’t wait to work at the actual stalls, and I’m really excited to see so many parts of the farmers market.