2/27/08-Greenmarket

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.