So, quite a bit has happened since our last entry– the Market at 10th and Pine has launched this past week, and we’re already preparing ourselves for the next one. The first stand has given the three of us a much greater appreciation for all of the work and logistics that go into running such a thing; between communications, flyer distribution, obtaining all of the necessary materials, and timing, it takes a considerable amount of energy just to prepare everything. But in spite of our nerves (and the lack of thunderstorms that we anticipated), the first market of the season was definitely a successful one, with a steady stream of enthusiastic visitors.

This past week, we had lettuce, collards, kale, green garlic, breakfast radishes, turnips, a large quantity of squash and peas, along with basil, oregano, and parsley. One of our customers brought us a large bucket of purple sage from his garden after we finished setting up, a pleasant surprise that we added to the table. Miranda, Lafayette’s Sustainability Fellow, had a leaf-pressing activity set up, which was very popular with most of the children who came by the stand. We also had the help of Curt, the farm manager of the Easton Urban Farm, Sophia Feller’s husband, Professor Cohen, and volunteers Claire, Shae, and Molly with running the stand, which we greatly appreciated. Having volunteers definitely lent us confidence and helped us to be more efficient.

Now that Andie, Casey, and I have had the firsthand experience of running the stand, we are now more aware of what works well and what doesn’t. Seeing the popularity of Miranda’s table among the younger children reminded us of the importance of having kid-friendly activities each week, since it was something that kept them entertained as their parents shopped for produce. Another thing that we noted was the importance of having conversations with customers about how to cook with the vegetables that we have available. For future stands, we definitely want to have more culinary knowledge when it comes to all of our vegetables.

Now that the Market at 10th and Pine has launched, it comes as a relief to have gotten past all of the pre-stand anticipation. Although things are going to be moving more quickly for us now, it helps considerably to have run at least one stand, so that we can start to streamline our processes in the hope of bettering the markets to come.

Our next market (like all of our subsequent ones) will be this Thursday at 10th and Pine from 5:30-7:00!